Landscape painter, Painter, Still life painter, Illustrator, b. 1858 - d. 1924
(b St. John’s, Newfoundland 1858; d New York 1924) Canadian-born painter. Maurice Prendergast apprenticed with a commercial artist in Boston before traveling to Paris to study at the famed Académie Julian. There he met a number of contemporary French and English artists, who profoundly influenced him. When he returned to the United States, he became a member of the “Eight;” a group of artists who worked in very diverse styles, many of whom specialized in painting scenes from lives of the urban working class. Prendergast, by contrast, delighted in painting parks, beaches, and streets thronged with fashionably dressed people in a gay mood. His highly personal technique deployed flat areas of bright color in rhythmic patterns, in compositions that frequently resemble mosaics. Following a visit to Paris in 1907, Prendergast was struck by the palette of Cezanne. In response, he increasingly began to paint in oil, applying the medium more heavily, and emphasizing two-dimensional patterns of simplified shapes. He exhibited seven works of this type in the Armory Show in 1913. (Credit: Doyle New York, Modern & Contemporary and European & American Art, May 19, 2009, Lot 217)
Maurice Brazil Prendergast (1858-1924) Central Park signed 'Prendergast' (lower left) watercolor and graphite on paper 11 1/8 x 15 1/2 in. (28.3 x 39.4 cm.) Executed circa 1907.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast 1858 - 1924 Park Promenade (Prestel 1663) inscribed Prendergast in pencil (likely in another hand) monotype printed in colors on Japan paper sheet: 15¾ by 11⅛ in. 398 by 282 mm. Executed circa 1895-97; this print is unique.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast 1858 - 1924 Woman with Parasol (see Prestel 1743) monotype printed in colors on Japan paper image: 7¼ by 3¾ in. (18.5 by 9.6 cm.) sheet: 14¼ by 9¾ in. (36.3 by 24.8 cm.) Executed in 1901. Please note that this lot will not be on view during the sale exhibition. It is located at our Long Island City, New York storage facility. If you would like to examine it in person before the sale please contact Juliette Saylor at Juliette.Saylor@sothebys.com
Maurice Prendergast (American, 1858-1924) Women in Landscape watercolor on paper signed 'Prendergast' bottom right 13 3/4 x 10 in. (34.9 x 25.4cm) This lot is located in Philadelphia. The Collection of Dr. Richard J. and Eva Wattenmaker, Pennsylvania
Maurice Brazil Prendergast, American, 1858 to 1924, oil painting on canvas depicting smartly dressed women walking along a beach in France, where the artist often visited. Matted and framed. Maurice Prendergast painted in oil and watercolor and created monotypes. His delicate landscapes and scenes of modern life, characterized by mosaic like color, are generally associated with Post Impressionism. Antique American Paintings And Art Collectibles.
Artist: Maurice Brazil Prendergast, American (1858 - 1924) Title: Paintings of America - Children on a Raft Medium: Poster Size: 24 x 17 in. (60.96 x 43.18 cm)
Artist: Maurice Brazil Prendergast, American (1858 - 1924) Title: Paintings of America - South Boston Pier Year: 2003 Medium: Poster Size: 24 x 17 in. (60.96 x 43.18 cm)
Maurice Brazil Prendergast (1858-1924 New York / France) "Rainy Day" Watercolor on Paper. Prendergast was a member of The Eight, a group of early twentieth-century American artists who, aside from Prendergast, represented the Ashcan School. Pencil signed at lower right corner. Sheet measures 9.25x7.5". Loose and unframed. Light toning to paper, overall excellent condition.
An Eye for Impressionism: Property from an Important American Estate Maurice Brazil Prendergast 1858 - 1924 Central Park (Summer in Central Park) signed Prendergast (lower right) oil on canvas 18 ⅛ by 16 ¼ in. 46 by 43.3 cm. Executed circa 1907-10.
GUST OF WIND (LADY WITH AN UMBRELLA) Color monotype, circa 1891-94, on thin Japan paper, with wide or full margins, framed. Image 7 1/4 x 6 1/8 inches; 184 x 156 mm. Sheet 14 1/4 x 11 3/8 inches; 362 x 289 mm. Frame 17 1/2 x 16 inches; 445 x 406 mm. Provenance: The artist Daphne Dunbar (acquired directly from the above) M. Knoedler & Co., New York (consigned by the above in 1965) David David Gallery, Philadelphia, 1972 Plaza Art Galleries, New York,1972 M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1974 David Tunick Inc., New York The Collection of Martin and Liane Atlas (acquired from the above in 1976)
Maurice Brazil Prendergast (1858-1924 New York / France) "Rainy Day" Watercolor on Paper. Prendergast was a member of The Eight, a group of early twentieth-century American artists who, aside from Prendergast, represented the Ashcan School. Pencil signed at lower right corner. Sheet measures 9.25x7.5". Loose and unframed. Light toning to paper, overall excellent condition.
Group of Reproduction American Prints. Including Maurice Prendergast (American, 1858 - 1924). Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, and Henry Martin New Yorker cartoon.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast 1858 - 1924 Lady in Purple (Clark, Matthew & Owens 1577) monotype printed in colors with pencil additions on Japan paper sheet: 15 by 10¾ in. (38.3 by 27.4 cm.) Executed circa 1891-94; this work is unique.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast 1858 - 1924 Woman with Parasol (see P. 1743) monotype printed in colors on Japan paper image: 7¼ by 3¾ in. (18.5 by 9.6 cm.) sheet: 14¼ by 9¾ in. (36.3 by 24.8 cm.) Executed in 1901. Please note that this lot will not be on view during the sale exhibition. It is located at our Long Island City, New York storage facility. If you would like to examine it in person before the sale please contact Nora Feder-Johnson at Nora.FederJohnson@sothebys.com.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast (1858 - 1924) Watercolor & Gouache on paper, Signed Lower right "on the market' Measures (11 x 18 inches) w/frame (26 x 19 inches) Much influenced by the Post-Impressionists* and Fauves* in Paris, Maurice Prendergast became a leading name in modernist American art and is known for his depictions of urban leisure-class people enjoying themselves in idyll landscapes and beach scenes. His style was based on a carefully adjusted combination of colors, which were applied to the canvas in dots, patches, and layers. His compositions were typically laid out in horizontal zones that flattened forms and emphasized the richness of the surface texture. He stylized his figures, which were mostly female, into monumental goddesses, sometimes nude and sometimes clothed, who assume the stately poses of the antique but keep their humanity by playing with a dog or sporting a fashionable hat. Early in his career, he painted with watercolor but switched to oil in 1900. Prendergast was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, and at age ten moved to Boston with his family. In the mid-1870s,
Maurice Prendergast (American, 1858-1924) - Two Girls with Fruit; With Long Wharf verso (A Double-Sided Work) Signed ‘Prendergast' bottom center, watercolor and pencil on paper Sheet size: 10 ½ x 15 in. (25.4 x 38.1cm) Executed circa 1896-97 (Long Wharf) Executed circa 1913-15 (Two Girls with Fruit). Provenance The Artist. To Charles Prendergast, the Artist's brother. Collection of Mrs. Charles Prendergast. Private Collection. Christies, New York, sale of May 23, 1990, lot 133B (as Two Woman and Sea Pier). Acquired directly from the above sale. The Collection of Sidney Rothberg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Literature Carol Clark, Nancy Mowll Mathews and Gwendolyn Owens, Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonné, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1990, p. 366-367, no. 652 (recto and verso illustrated p. 366).
Maurice Prendergast (American, 1858–1924) - Au Café Signed with Artist's initials ‘M.B.P’ along bottom right edge, watercolor and pencil on paper Sheet size: 7 x 8 ¾ in. (17.8 x 22.2cm) Executed circa 1893-1894. Provenance The Artist. A gift from the above. Collection of Robert Stark. By descent to Freya Stark, Robert Stark's daughter. Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, 1977, lot 81. Acquired directly from the above sale. The Collection of Sidney Rothberg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Literature Carol Clark, Nancy Mowll Mathews and Gwendolyn Owens, Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonné, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1990, p. 348-349, no. 587 (illustrated p. 348).
2 Pieces by Maurice Brazil Prendergast (American, 1858-1924), (1) watercolor, signed lower left, art measures 19" x 13", frame measures 27" x 22", excellent condition, and (1) poster, signed Prendergast lower right. At bottom of poster, Whitney Museum of American Art, June 1-September 2, 1990 Williams College Museum of Art October 6-December 16 1990 Los Angeles County Museum of Art February 24-April 21, 1991 The Phillips Collection May 18-August 25, 1991. Maurice Prendergast, was organized by the Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts. The exhibition was made possible by The Henry Luce Foundation, Inc., with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Poster measures 24" x 36". Excellent condition.
Artist: Maurice Brazil Prendergast, American (1858 - 1924) Title: Davis and Long Exhibition Year: 1977 Medium: Poster Size: 24 x 12.5 in. (60.96 x 31.75 cm)
Printer's mark lower left corner and printed signature, title, and date lower right. Appears in good condition; not examined out of vintage mid century gesso and gilt frame (linen liner with some water staining). Liner opening 13.5" x 21.25" approx. Frame 21" x 28.5" x 2" D approx.
2 Pieces by Maurice Brazil Prendergast (American, 1858-1924), (1) watercolor, signed lower left, art measures 19" x 13", frame measures 27" x 22", excellent condition, and (1) poster, signed Prendergast lower right. At bottom of poster, Whitney Museum of American Art, June 1-September 2, 1990 Williams College Museum of Art October 6-December 16 1990 Los Angeles County Museum of Art February 24-April 21, 1991 The Phillips Collection May 18-August 25, 1991. Maurice Prendergast, was organized by the Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts. The exhibition was made possible by The Henry Luce Foundation, Inc., with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Poster measures 24" x 36". Excellent condition.
Maurice Prendergast (American, 1858-1924) - Beach Along the Harbor Signed ‘Prendergast’ bottom left, oil on canvas 14 x 16 ¾ in. (35.6 x 42.5cm) Executed 1907-1910. Provenance The Artist. Collection of Charles Prendergast, the Artist's brother, 1924. Collection of Eugenie Pendergast, the Artist's wife, by 1948. A gift from the above in 1986. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia (accession number 86.192). Literature Carol Clark, Nancy Mowll Mathews and Gwendolyn Owens, Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonné, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, 1990, no. 208, p. 207 (illustrated). Lot Essay By the time the present work was painted, Prendergast was already a well-established artist, both in the United States and in Europe, where he not only followed a rigorous training in the 1890s, but also made pivotal acquaintances in the likes of English avant-garde artists Walter Sickert and Aubrey Beardsley, and French Post-Impressionists Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard. Dubbed the “painter of modern life,” Prendergast liked to focus on the leisure activities and hobbies of the middle and upper classes, which he rendered in a colorful, mosaic-like fashion, as exemplified by the present work. The composition is divided into five distinct layers of rocky shoreline, sand, water, distant townscape, and sky, each captured in a distinct tonality ranging from brown, rust, turquoise, soft pink, and pale blue. Prendergast painstakingly reconciles different harmonies, joining them together in a complex network of loose brushstrokes, expressive swirls, and bold patches of color, which altogether contribute to a tapestry effect on the verge of abstraction. While this harbor scene is pleasant and seemingly simple and earnest, Prendergast paid great attention to the composition. Here, he channels Cézanne's expressive use of form and adopts his love for color variations, once admitting: “Cézanne gets the most wonderful color, a dusty kind of grey.” Through color, which he loosely, yet thoughtfully applies on his canvas, Prendergast recreates a spontaneous moment that ravishes the spectator; an innocent, yet bold spectacle for the eyes. The work likely produced the same effect on Prendergast himself, as Beach Along the Harbor remained in the artist's collection during his entire lifetime, passing down to his widow who eventually donated the work to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in 1986.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast (1858-1924) A Day at the Beach signed 'Prendergast' (lower right) watercolor, pencil, charcoal and pastel on paper 13 7/8 x 19 7/8 in. (35.2 x 50.5 cm.) Executed circa 1920-23.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast 1858 - 1924 Lady in Purple (Clark, Matthew & Owens 1577) monotype printed in colors with pencil additions on Japan paper sheet: 15 by 10¾ in. 383 by 274 mm. Executed circa 1891-94; this work is unique.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast (American, 1858-1924) Post-Impressionist watercolor painting on paper depicting a waterside landscape scene with purple mountains in the background, signed lower left, housed under glass in a frame. Image: 5.25" H x 7.75" W; frame: 14.5" H x 18" W. Provenance: From an Upper East Side townhouse.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast (American, 1858-1924) Study St. Malo No. 13, c. 1907 oil on panel signed Prendergast (lower left); inscribed by the artist No 13/"Study" St Malo/Maurice Prendergast (label on the reverse); carved inscription Prendergast and 1909 (frame verso) 10 1/2 x 13 3/4 inches. Property from the Collection of Angie Burnham, Boulder, Colorado Provenance: Private Collection, Buffalo, New York Thence by descent to the son of the above, Siesta Key, Florida Thence by descent to the present owner, by 1975 Exhibited: (possibly) Philadelphia, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, An Exhibition of Paintings by Arthur B. Davies, William J. Glackens, Robert Henri, Ernest Lawon, George Luks, Maurice B. Prendergast, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, March 7 - 29, 1908, no. 13 Lot note: Both Study St. Malo No. 13 (Lot 1062) and Rocky Cove Beach, Marblehead (Lot 1063) represent Maurice Brazil Prendergast as a "painter of modern life." The artist's focus on middle-class leisure activities in public spaces reflects the interests of his urbane patrons. The crowd was his signature theme, with anonymous figures enjoying themselves in parks, plazas, and on beaches. This subject matter allowed him to develop his own distinct style that embraced spontaneous moments. Greatly influenced by not only the French Impressionists, such as Claude Monet and Edgar Degas, but also the Neo- and Post-Impressionists like Paul Cezanne, George Seurat, and Paul Signac, Prendergast captured movement and texture through loosely applied color arranged in a complex patchwork of free brushstrokes, vivid dots, and bold tonalities. By 1907, the circa date of Study St. Malo No. 13, Prendergast was already a well-established artist in Boston and other American cities. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, he felt the need to see the new French modernist styles currently on view in Paris and to paint the coastal resorts in Normandy and Brittany. Earlier in the artist's career, he had studied in Paris from 1891 to 1894, and visited the northern French coast with other American art students. Prendergast left for Paris in May 1907 and while there, he saw exhibitions that included the paintings of Cezanne, Felix Valloton, and edouard Vuillard. Writing to a friend, Prendergast declared that "All those exhibitions worked me up so much that I had to run up and down the Boulevards to work off steam." No mere acolyte, Prendergast absorbed the different styles and developed them into his own, and he began to paint with more vigorous brushstrokes and with a brilliant array of colors. After Paris, the artist traveled to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where he was to remain for the summer. While there, he executed a number of oil paintings on panels, including Study St. Malo No. 13. The heightened color and discernable movement toward abstraction can be seen as a direct reaction to the new French artistic movements. The composition is divided into four layers of near shoreline, water, distant shoreline, and sky, with the foreground figures creating a dense screen. Small, bright strokes outline the figures, rocks, and sailboats, and are strongly reminiscent of the port scenes of Paul Signac, as well as Cezanne's technique of broken rhythmic color outlines. The loose brushwork likewise heightens the seemingly casual placement of the various colors. Upon his return to the United States, Prendergast included the artworks created in France in several shows across the country. Most significantly, he was asked to participate in the February 1908 exhibition of The Eight at Macbeth Galleries in New York, which also traveled to several other cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit. The artist included seventeen works, at least ten of which were small panels painted at Saint-Malo. The exhibition catalogue does not list individual titles of the smaller panels, which are identified only by their checklist numbers and the generic title of Study, St. Malo. In March 1908, the Eight exhibition traveled to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In the 1990 exhibition catalogue, Maurice Prendergast, Nancy Mowll Mathews states that for the panels that traveled to Philadelphia, Prendergast wrote on labels that he applied to the back of his paintings with the numbers that corresponded to the catalogue produced by the Academy. The present artwork's frame bears a partial label written in the artist's hand, No 13/"Study" St Malo/Maurice Prendergast. Although it is unknown if this painting was ever exhibited, the 1908 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts catalogue does list a "13. Study, St. Malo," at a price of $200, though without the frame. The Eight show proved to be a watershed exhibition of 20th-century vanguard art. Maurice and other members of The Eight shared an interest in similar subject matter—the leisure activity of people in an urban context, which originally derived from the French Impressionists. However, Maurice was unique among his colleagues, as at 49 years of age, he was the oldest member of The Eight and the only Bostonian. Moreover, he was represented in the exhibition by at least ten scenes of St. Malo, distinct from the other works in their European derivation and vibrantly colorful jewel-toned palette. This exhibition, which was to be the triumph of "American" art, also became a vehicle for the dissemination of the new French modernist styles, thanks to Maurice's daring contributions to the show. By 1914, Prendergast had settled permanently in his Washington Square studio in New York, with frequent trips in the summer to New England, including to Marblehead, the location depicted in Rocky Cove Beach, Marblehead. As in many of his late works, the artist here emphasizes the flatness of the pictorial plane with a frieze-like arrangement of figures divided between the rocky waterline below and strip of land with cottages above. The brightly clad, anonymous bathing figures reflect Prendergast's many years observing the leisure class on holiday in New England and Europe. Nancy Mowll Mathews remarks, "The late idyllic paintings, with their visible signs of Prendergast's ceaseless attempt to improve his art, reveal an essential feature of Prendergast as an artist. He came to his profession without the advantage of family connections or wealth, but with a solid background in the virtues of hard work and progressive thinking. His talent gave him the tools to succeed in commercial art and as a view painter early in his career; his innate attraction to new ideas allowed him to move on to modernist circles and to play a part in the cultural revolution of the early twentieth century. Even when he restricted himself to a single idyllic message of peace and harmony late in his life, he worked to improve the expression in each one even if it meant dispensing with what went on before. His never-ending pursuit of a new solution gave him the courage to move beyond each success and create works that continually surprise and satisfy. For this he was recognized by his contemporaries and continues to be valued by posterity" (Maurice Prendergast, 1990, p. 38). Works such as Study St. Malo No. 13 and Rocky Cove Beach, Marblehead reveal Prendergast's meticulous execution and careful reconciliation of different color harmonies. The spontaneous brushwork and pure color of both the earlier oil painting and later watercolor combine to create striking modernist images of bustling summer days. It is with these elements that the artist melded together an energetic tapestry of urban life.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast (American, 1858–1924) Rocky Beach Cove, Marblehead, c. 1920-23 watercolor, graphite, gouache, and pastel on paper signed Prendergast (lower left) 11 1/4 x 15 1/2 inches. Property from a Private Collection, Phoenix Arizona With a Beach Scene sketch on the verso. Provenance: Nelle E. Mullen Sold: Samuel T. Freeman & Co., Philadelphia, November 5, 1967, Lot 40 Private Collection Keith Barish Hardin Willinger ACA Galleries, New York Acquired from the above, 1976 Thence by descent to the present owner Literature: Carol Clark, Nancy Mowll Mathews, and Gwendolyn Owens, Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonne, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1990, no. 1389, p. 543, illus. Lot note: Both Study St. Malo No. 13 (Lot 1062) and Rocky Cove Beach, Marblehead (Lot 1063) represent Maurice Brazil Prendergast as a "painter of modern life." The artist's focus on middle-class leisure activities in public spaces reflects the interests of his urbane patrons. The crowd was his signature theme, with anonymous figures enjoying themselves in parks, plazas, and on beaches. This subject matter allowed him to develop his own distinct style that embraced spontaneous moments. Greatly influenced by not only the French Impressionists, such as Claude Monet and Edgar Degas, but also the Neo- and Post-Impressionists like Paul Cezanne, George Seurat, and Paul Signac, Prendergast captured movement and texture through loosely applied color arranged in a complex patchwork of free brushstrokes, vivid dots, and bold tonalities. By 1907, the circa date of Study St. Malo No. 13, Prendergast was already a well-established artist in Boston and other American cities. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, he felt the need to see the new French modernist styles currently on view in Paris and to paint the coastal resorts in Normandy and Brittany. Earlier in the artist's career, he had studied in Paris from 1891 to 1894, and visited the northern French coast with other American art students. Prendergast left for Paris in May 1907 and while there, he saw exhibitions that included the paintings of Cezanne, Felix Valloton, and edouard Vuillard. Writing to a friend, Prendergast declared that "All those exhibitions worked me up so much that I had to run up and down the Boulevards to work off steam." No mere acolyte, Prendergast absorbed the different styles and developed them into his own, and he began to paint with more vigorous brushstrokes and with a brilliant array of colors. After Paris, the artist traveled to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where he was to remain for the summer. While there, he executed a number of oil paintings on panels, including Study St. Malo No. 13. The heightened color and discernable movement toward abstraction can be seen as a direct reaction to the new French artistic movements. The composition is divided into four layers of near shoreline, water, distant shoreline, and sky, with the foreground figures creating a dense screen. Small, bright strokes outline the figures, rocks, and sailboats, and are strongly reminiscent of the port scenes of Paul Signac, as well as Cezanne's technique of broken rhythmic color outlines. The loose brushwork likewise heightens the seemingly casual placement of the various colors. Upon his return to the United States, Prendergast included the artworks created in France in several shows across the country. Most significantly, he was asked to participate in the February 1908 exhibition of The Eight at Macbeth Galleries in New York, which also traveled to several other cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit. The artist included seventeen works, at least ten of which were small panels painted at Saint-Malo. The exhibition catalogue does not list individual titles of the smaller panels, which are identified only by their checklist numbers and the generic title of Study, St. Malo. In March 1908, the Eight exhibition traveled to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In the 1990 exhibition catalogue, Maurice Prendergast, Nancy Mowll Mathews states that for the panels that traveled to Philadelphia, Prendergast wrote on labels that he applied to the back of his paintings with the numbers that corresponded to the catalogue produced by the Academy. The present artwork's frame bears a partial label written in the artist's hand, No 13/"Study" St Malo/Maurice Prendergast. Although it is unknown if this painting was ever exhibited, the 1908 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts catalogue does list a "13. Study, St. Malo," at a price of $200, though without the frame. The Eight show proved to be a watershed exhibition of 20th-century vanguard art. Maurice and other members of The Eight shared an interest in similar subject matter—the leisure activity of people in an urban context, which originally derived from the French Impressionists. However, Maurice was unique among his colleagues, as at 49 years of age, he was the oldest member of The Eight and the only Bostonian. Moreover, he was represented in the exhibition by at least ten scenes of St. Malo, distinct from the other works in their European derivation and vibrantly colorful jewel-toned palette. This exhibition, which was to be the triumph of "American" art, also became a vehicle for the dissemination of the new French modernist styles, thanks to Maurice's daring contributions to the show. By 1914, Prendergast had settled permanently in his Washington Square studio in New York, with frequent trips in the summer to New England, including to Marblehead, the location depicted in Rocky Cove Beach, Marblehead. As in many of his late works, the artist here emphasizes the flatness of the pictorial plane with a frieze-like arrangement of figures divided between the rocky waterline below and strip of land with cottages above. The brightly clad, anonymous bathing figures reflect Prendergast's many years observing the leisure class on holiday in New England and Europe. Nancy Mowll Mathews remarks, "The late idyllic paintings, with their visible signs of Prendergast's ceaseless attempt to improve his art, reveal an essential feature of Prendergast as an artist. He came to his profession without the advantage of family connections or wealth, but with a solid background in the virtues of hard work and progressive thinking. His talent gave him the tools to succeed in commercial art and as a view painter early in his career; his innate attraction to new ideas allowed him to move on to modernist circles and to play a part in the cultural revolution of the early twentieth century. Even when he restricted himself to a single idyllic message of peace and harmony late in his life, he worked to improve the expression in each one even if it meant dispensing with what went on before. His never-ending pursuit of a new solution gave him the courage to move beyond each success and create works that continually surprise and satisfy. For this he was recognized by his contemporaries and continues to be valued by posterity" (Maurice Prendergast, 1990, p. 38). Works such as Study St. Malo No. 13 and Rocky Cove Beach, Marblehead reveal Prendergast's meticulous execution and careful reconciliation of different color harmonies. The spontaneous brushwork and pure color of both the earlier oil painting and later watercolor combine to create striking modernist images of bustling summer days. It is with these elements that the artist melded together an energetic tapestry of urban life.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast 1858 - 1924 Woman with Parasol monotype printed in colors on Japan paper image: 7¼ by 3¾ in. (18.5 by 9.6 cm.) sheet: 14¼ by 9¾ in. (36.3 by 24.8 cm.) Executed in 1901; this work is unique.
(American, 1858-1924). Graphite on paper, drawings on recto and verso, E. Prendergast Collection stamp on verso, sight size of recto: 7 1/2 x 4 3/4 in., framed.
Poster depicting an image of painted work titled Telegraph Hill by post-impressionist artist Maurice Prendergast (American, 1858-1924). High quality printed image captures the painterly strokes and color of painting perfectly. Large text reads Maurice Prendergast Monotypes from the Terra Museum of American Art. Dimensions: 22"W x 28"H Issued: 1985 Manufacturer: Terra Museum of American Art Provenance: The Bass Museum of Art
DESCRIPTION: Maurice Brazil Prendergast (1858-1924) watercolor and graphite on paper painting depicting several umbrella holding figures surrounding a center tree, signed: "Prendergast" (Lower Right) mounted in gilt carved frame. Labels from Christie's Auction at verso. CIRCA: Late 19th to early 20th Cent. DIMENSIONS: (Image) H: 7.25" x L: 5.25" (Frame) H: 13.75" x L: 11" Have a similar item to sell? Contact: Info@Akibaantiques.com. CONDITION: Great condition. See lot description for details on item condition. More detailed condition requests can be obtained via email (info@akibaantiques.com) or SMS(305)-332-9274. Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Akiba Antiques shall have no responsibility for any error or omission."
Signed Prendergast, Bathers at beach. Oil painting on Canvas Signed "Prendergast". Maurice B Prendergast? possibly Oil on Canvas depicting three nude bathers at a beach. Signed lower right, 'Prendergast', and dated '1917' lower left. Inscribed in pen on the back 'MB Prendergast" with some additional writing and numbers on reverse that are possibly a phone number.
Artist: Maurice Brazil Prendergast, American (1858 - 1924) Title: Paintings of America - Children on a Raft Portfolio: Medium: Poster Size: 24 x 17 in. (60.96 x 43.18 cm)
Artist: Maurice Brazil Prendergast, American (1858 - 1924) Title: Paintings of America - South Boston Pier Portfolio: Year: 2003 Medium: Poster Size: 24 x 17 in. (60.96 x 43.18 cm)
