Maurice Brazil Prendergast

1859 – 1924

American painter, born in Canada, educated in Boston. In 1886 he worked his way to Europe on a cattle boat and studied in Paris at Julian's and at the Colarossi Academy. His brother, Charles Prendergast (1869-1948), an artist and frame maker, often assisted him financially. He again went abroad in the early 1890s, and during the rest of his life he gravitated between New York City and Europe, visiting various countries. In New York he joined the independent group of artists called The Eight. Prendergast evolved a style akin to Post-Impressionism. Much freer in his brushstroke, his landscapes and figure compositions evoked the quality of a gay tapestry. Prendergast's work was strongly associated from the beginning with leisurely scenes set on beaches and in parks. His early work was mostly in watercolour or monotype, 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. He developed and continued to elaborate a highly personal style, with boldly contrasting, jewel-like colours, and flattened, patternlike forms rhythmically arranged on a canvas. Forms were radically simplified and presented in flat areas of bright, unmodulated colour. His paintings have been aptly described as tapestry-like or resembling mosaics. He is well represented in the Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pa., and in other leading collections throughout the United States.

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