Maurice Brazil Prendergast (October 10, 1858 – February 1, 1924) was an American artist who painted in

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

and

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

, and created monotypes. His delicate landscapes and scenes of modern life, characterized by mosaic-like color, are generally associated with Post-Impressionism. Prendergast, however, was also a member of The Eight, a group of early twentieth-century American artists who, aside from Prendergast, represented the

Ashcan School The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, was an artistic movement in the United States during the late 19th-early 20th century that produced works portraying scenes of daily life in New York, often in the city's poorer neighborhoods. ...

Biography

Maurice Prendergast and his twin sister, Lucy, were born at their family's subarctic

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

in the city of St. John's, in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, then a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

. After the trading post failed, the family moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He grew up in the South End and was apprenticed as a youth to a commercial artist. At 14 he went to work in a dry goods store as a package wrapper. This conditioned him from the start to the brightly colored, flat patterning effects that characterized his mature work. He was also inspired by the example of Boston Impressionist Childe Hassam. A shy individual who experienced increasing deafness in his later years, Prendergast remained a bachelor throughout his life. He became closely attached to his younger brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, who was also a post-impressionist painter. Prendergast studied in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

from 1891 to 1895, at the Académie Colarossi with

Gustave Courtois Gustave-Claude-Étienne Courtois, also known as Gustave Courtois (; 18 May 1852 in Pusey, Haute-Saône – 1923 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French painter, a representative of the academic style of art. Life Courtois was born 18 May 1852 in ...

and

Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant (also known as Benjamin-Constant), born Jean-Joseph Constant (10 June 1845 – 26 May 1902), was a French painter and etcher best known for his Oriental subjects and portraits. Biography Benjamin-Constant was bor ...

and at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

. During one of his early stays in

, he met the Canadian painter

James Morrice James Wilson Morrice (August 10, 1865 – January 23, 1924) was one of the first Canadian landscape painters to be known internationally. He studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, France, where he lived for most of his career. James Morrice ...

, who introduced him to English

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

artists

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...

and

Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Woodblock printing in Japan, Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He ...

, all ardent admirers of

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

. A further acquaintance with

Édouard Vuillard Jean-Édouard Vuillard (; 11 November 186821 June 1940) was a French painter, decorative artist and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, he was a prominent member of the Nabis, making paintings which assembled areas of pure color, and interior s ...

and

Pierre Bonnard Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist ...

placed him firmly in the

Post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

camp. He also studied the work of

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

and

Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...

at retrospectives held in Paris in 1891 and 1892. Prendergast was additionally one of the first Americans to espouse the work of

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

and to understand and utilize his expressive use of form and color. Prendergast returned to Boston in 1895 and worked mainly in watercolor and

monotyping Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The i ...

. A trip to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

in 1898 exposed him to the genre scenes of

Vittore Carpaccio Vittore Carpaccio (British English, UK: Help:IPA/English, /kɑːrˈpætʃ(i)oʊ/, American English, US: Help:IPA/English, /-ˈpɑːtʃ-/, Italian: Help:IPA/Italian, itˈtoːre karˈpattʃo c. 1460/66 – 1525/26) was an Italians, Italian pai ...

and encouraged him to experiment with even more complex and rhythmic arrangements. His inventive watercolors of Venice are among his most appreciated works today. In 1900, he had major exhibitions at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

and at Macbeth Galleries in New York, which earned him critical acclaim. He showed in a

National Arts Club The National Arts Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and members club on Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1898 by Charles DeKay, an art and literary critic of the ''New York Times'' to "stimulate, foster, and promote public ...

exhibition in 1904, through which he befriended the painters

William Glackens William James Glackens (March 13, 1870 – May 22, 1938) was an American realist painter and one of the founders of the Ashcan School, which rejected the formal boundaries of artistic beauty laid-down by the conservative National Academy of De ...

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

, and

John French Sloan John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight. He is best known ...

. He exhibited with them in 1908 at Macbeth Galleries, along with George Luks,

Everett Shinn Everett Shinn (November 6, 1876 – May 1, 1953) was an American painter and member of the urban realist Ashcan School. Shinn started as a newspaper illustrator in Philadelphia, demonstrating a rare facility for depicting animated movement, a ...

, and

Arthur B. Davies Arthur Bowen Davies (September 26, 1862 – October 24, 1928) was an avant-garde American artist and influential advocate of modern art in the United States c. 1910–1928. Biography Davies was born in Utica, New York, the son of David and Phoeb ...

, a group collectively known after the show as The Eight. Glackens in particular became a lifelong friend. Despite poor health that hindered his work, Prendergast continued to show in major exhibitions throughout the remainder of his life. Important collectors like Albert Barnes and Ferdinand Howald became his patrons after his shows at the Carroll Gallery and the Daniel Gallery. His seven works at the landmark

Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...

of 1913 presented examples of his stylistic maturity. Seen in company with the most adventurous examples of Post-Impressionism and Fauvism, "his critical reception grew more favorable in heimmediate aftermath f that exhibition. In 1916, he participated in the "Fifty at Montross" show at the Montross Gallery, which also included works by Cézanne,

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

, Seurat, and Van Gogh. His work was the subject of a retrospective at

Joseph Brummer Joseph Brummer (1883 – 14 April 1947) was a Hungarian-born art dealer and collector who exhibited both antique artifacts from different cultures, early European art, and the works of modern painters and sculptors in his galleries in Paris a ...

Gallery in 1921, but the Metropolitan Museum of Art declined to host a Prendergast memorial retrospective after his death in 1924; at that time, his art was still seen as too demanding and advanced for the Metropolitan's trustees. His first New York memorial exhibition was held ten years later at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

"The Eight"

Prendergast exhibited at the Macbeth Galleries in 1908 with the short-lived association of artists known as "The Eight" because he supported their protest against the academic bias and restrictive exhibition policies of the powerful, conservative National Academy of Design. He believed in a "no jury, no prizes" openness that would allow independent or unconventional artists greater opportunities to find a wider, appreciative audience for their work. This controversial exhibition, which acquired legendary status in American art history, is seen as a seminal moment in the public response to Ashcan realism, as that form of gritty urban representational art was the style practiced by five of the participants (Henri, Sloan, Luks, Shinn, and Glackens), but Prendergast has nothing in common, in style or content, with that school of painting. Prendergast was far more a Modernist than any of the other seven members of The Eight. His ties to The Eight did not necessarily help his reputation in the long run: "Prendergast's irrevocable association with The Eight left him stylistically isolated in genealogies of modern art." A true independent, he fits into no particular category of modern American art.

Work

Prendergast's work was strongly associated from the beginning with leisurely scenes set on beaches and in parks. His early work was mostly in watercolor or

monotype Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The ...

, and he produced over two hundred monotypes between 1895 and 1902. He also experimented with oil painting in the 1890s, but did not focus on that medium until the early 1900s.Roberts, p. 54. He developed early in his career and continued throughout his life to elaborate a highly personal style, with boldly contrasting, jewel-like colors, and flattened, pattern-like forms rhythmically arranged on a canvas. Forms were radically simplified and presented in flat areas of bright, unmodulated color. His paintings have been aptly described as

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

-like or resembling

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

Gallery

File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Green Dress (1891-1894).jpg, ''Green Dress'' (1891–94) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Street Scene (1891-1894).jpg, ''Street Scene'' (1891–94) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Lady on the Boulevard (The Green Cape) (1892).jpg, ''Lady on the Boulevard''/''The Green Cape'' (1892) File:Prendergast Maurice Along the Seine 1892-94.jpg, ''Along the Seine'' (1892–94) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Skipping Rope (1892-1895).jpg, ''Skipping Rope'' (1892–95) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Children at Play (1895).jpg, ''Children at Play'' (1895) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Franklin Park Boston (1895).jpg, ''Franklin Park Boston'' (1895) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Spring in Franklin Park (1895).jpg, ''Spring in Franklin Park'' (1895) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - The Tuileries Gardens, Paris (1895).jpg, ''The Tuileries Gardens, Paris'' (1895) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - The Breezy Common (1895-1897).jpg, ''The Breezy Common'' (1895–97) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Marine Park (1895-1897).jpg, ''Marine Park'' (1895–97) File:Prendergast Maurice South Boston Pier 1895-97.jpg, ''South Boston Pier'' (1895–97) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Evening on a Pleasure Boat (1895-1898).jpg, ''Evening on a Pleasure Boat'' (1895–98) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Franklin Park Boston (1895-1898).jpg, ''Franklin Park Boston'' (1895–98) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Viewing the Ships (1896).jpg, ''Viewing the Ships'' (1896) File:Prendergast Maurice Summer Visitors 1897.jpg, ''Summer Visitors'' (1897) File:Maurice Brazil Prendergast 002.jpg, ''Ponte della Paglia'' (1898–99) File:Prendergast Maurice Venetian Canal Scene 1898-99.jpg, ''Venetian Canal Scene'' (1898–99) File:Prendergast Maurice The Balloon 1898.jpg, ''The Balloon'' (1898) File:Prendergast Maurice St. Mark-s Venice 1898.jpg, ''St. Mark's Venice'' (1898) File:Prendergast Maurice Easter Procession St. Mark-s 1898.jpg, ''Easter Procession St. Mark's'' (1898) File:Prendergast Maurice Afternoon Pincian Hill 1898-99.jpg, ''Afternoon. Pincian Hill

n Rome N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...

' (1898–99) File:Maurice Prendergast - 'Courtyard Scene, Siena', watercolor and graphite, c. 1898-9.jpg, ''Courtyard Scene, Siena'' (c. 1898–99) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - The Grand Canal, Venice (1898-1899).jpg, ''The Grand Canal, Venice'' (1898–99) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Monte Pincio (1898-1899).jpg, ''Monte Pincio'' (1898–99) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Monte Pincio Rome (1898-1899).jpg, ''Monte Pincio Rome'' (1898–99) File:Prendergast Maurice Splash of Sunshine and Rain 1899.jpg, ''Splash of Sunshine and Rain'' (1899) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Telegraph Hill (1900).jpg, ''Telegraph Hill'' (1900) File:Prendergast Maurice West Church Boston 1900-01.jpg, ''West Church Boston'' (1900–01) File:Maurice Brazil Prendergast 001.jpg, ''Central Park, New York'' (1901) File:Prendergast Maurice In Central Park New York 1900-03.jpg, ''In Central Park New York'' (1900–03) File:Prendergast Maurice Figures Under the Flag 1900-05.jpg, ''Figures Under the Flag'' (1900–05) File:Surf, Cohasset Maurice Prendergast.jpeg, ''Surf, Cohasset'' (1900–05) File:Prendergast Maurice The Mall Central Park 1901.jpg, ''The Mall Central Park'' (1901) File:Prendergast Maurice May Day Central Park 1901.jpg, ''May Day Central Park'' (1901) File:Prendergast Maurice Madison Square 1901.jpg, ''Madison Square'' (1901) File:After the Storm Maurice Prendergast.jpeg, ''After the Storm'' (1902–06) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Opal Sea (1903-1910).jpg, ''Opal Sea'' (1903–10) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Salem Willows (1904).jpg, ''Salem Willows'' (1904) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Spring Flowers (1904).jpg, ''Spring Flowers'' (1904) File:Crescent Beach Maurice Prendergast.jpeg, ''Crescent Beach'' (c. 1907) File:Summer in the Park Maurice Prendergast.jpeg, ''Summer in the Park'' (1907–10) File:Autumn in New England Maurice Prendergast.jpeg, ''Autumn in New England'' (1910–13) File:Prendergast Maurice Santa Maria Formosa Venice 1911 12.jpg, ''Santa Maria Formosa Venice'' (1911–12) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Still Life Apples Vase (1913-1915).JPG, ''Still Life Apples Vase'' (1913–15) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Still Life w Apples (1913-1915).jpg, ''Still Life w Apples'' (1913–15) File:Marblehead Maurice Prendergast.jpeg, ''Marblehead'' (1914–15) File:Blue Mountains Maurice Prendergast.jpeg, ''Blue Mountains'' (1914–1915) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - The Grove (1915).jpg, ''The Grove'' (1915) File:Bathers Maurice Prendergast.jpeg, ''The Bathers'' (1918–23) File:New England Harbor Maurice Prendergast.jpeg, ''New England Harbor'' (1919–23) File:Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - St. Malo (Unknown).JPG, ''St. Malo'' (Unknown) File:Maurice Brazil Prendergast - Umbrellas in the Rain - Google Art Project.jpg, Umbrellas in the Rain 1899 watercolor Museum of Fine Arts Boston

References

Sources

*Kennedy, Elizabeth. "Maurice B. Prendergast: The Modern Spirit" (pp. 109–119) in Elizabeth Kennedy (ed.), ''The Eight and American Modernisms'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009). *Mathews, Nancy Mowll. ''Maurice Prendergast.'' New York: Prestel/Williams College Museum of Art, 1990. *Roberts, Norma J. (ed.). ''The American Collections.'' Columbus, OH: Columbus Museum of Art, 1988.

External links

Biography at the National Gallery of Art

Maurice Brazil Prendergast Virtual Gallery

Prendergast Archive & Study Center, Williams College Museum of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prendergast, Maurice 1858 births 1924 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters 20th-century American painters American watercolorists Artists from Newfoundland and Labrador People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Post-impressionist painters Académie Julian alumni Académie Colarossi alumni People from South End, Boston 20th-century American printmakers 20th-century American male artists