Maurice Brazil Prendergast (1858-1924)
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Maurice Brazil Prendergast was an American, Post-Impressionist painter born in Newfoundland, Canada. When Prendergast was a child his family moved to Boston from Canada after the closure of their northern trading post. In Boston Prendergast assisted a commercial artist who made bright, graphic work. This early graphic work later impacted Prendergast’s style as a painter.
Prendergast was not a particularly social artist and never married or had children. Prendergast spent much of his time with his brother, who was also an artist and a frame maker.
Prendergast decided to study painting formally and enrolled at the Académie Julian and the Académie Colarossi in Paris. French instructors as well as Canadian artist James Morrice and English painters, Walter Sickert and Aubrey Beardsley, influenced Prendergast. Prendergast was exposed to Impression and Post-Impressionism, which was far more popular in Europe than in the United States. Prendergast became good friends with leading Post-Impressionists like Vuillard and Bonnard. Prendergast was able to formulate his own style, based on his early work experience in Boston and his studies in Europe. Prendergast was known for his use of pattern, vibrant colors and flat colors. Prendergast’s paintings often reference textiles or mosaics.
Prendergast is commonly associated with a group of American painters called The Eight, which included Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, George Luks, and William Glackens. The Twentieth century group was known for its avant-garde style.
Prendergast’s style changed after a trip to Venice in 1898. Prendergast greatly appreciated the work of Vittore Carpaccio, who made Italian genre scenes. Under the influence of Carpaccio, Prendergast’s style became even more complex and pattern oriented. Prendergast was also influenced by the structure and expressive colors in Cezanne paintings. Few other American artists at that time appreciated Cezanne’s innovative style.
Prendergast often painted in watercolors, only switching to oil paints and monotypes later in his life. Many of Prendergast’s paintings are now in important museums and private collections. Do you think you own a painting by Maurice Brazil Prendergast? Contact us. We are the Maurice Brazil Predergast experts.