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Lot Essay
Viewing the Sailboats is a brilliant example of Maurice Prendergast's unique style: a combination of color theory-derived from the French Impressionists, and varied brushstroke. In this wonderfully decorative painting Prendergast applied his self-taught technique to a motif that became a recurring theme throughout his career.
Prendergast was fascinated with the leisure activities of the new middle class at the turn of the century. Often observing crowds from a distance enjoying a promenade along the coast or through the park, Prendergast accumulated numerous sketchbooks and watercolors of these recreational scenes. These on-site sketches and watercolors were the primary basis for Prendergast's oils where his experimentation with color and form is most apparent.
Prendergast traveled abroad extensively throughout his career and appreciated the work of his European contemporaries such as C/aezanne, Matisse and Seurat. He embraced their brilliant color palette, conceding to color and brushstroke alone as a means of representation. Prendergast ". . . varied the brushstroke to suit the object represented: a twirl of a full brush for a parasol, a few broad strokes within a contour line for a female figure." (H. H.l Rhys, Maurice Prendergast, Cambridge, 1960, p. 42) In Viewing the Sailboats the viewer's eye is drawn to the brilliant pink of the woman's dress and the purple splash of the gentleman's top hat. These patches of color weave a pattern of movement across the canvas, emphasizing the motion of the holiday scene.
At the time this painting was executed Prendergast was experimenting with varied brushstroke throughout the canvas. "He transformed the regularity of the glowing, rich spots and dabs of color into irregular and curvilinear shaped patterns, brushstroke overlapping brushstroke..." (R. J. Wattenmaker, Maurice Prendergast, New York, 1994, p. 100) In Viewing the Sailboats, the rhythm of the brushstrokes in the foreground contrast sharply with the more controlled, horizontal brushstrokes in the sea and sky. The contrast of color and brushstroke emphasizes the three distinct horizontal bands within the picture: the shoreline, the sea and the sky. The soaring verticality of the trees interlocks the three horizontal forms. By using this array of devices Prendergast emphasizes the flatness of the surface heightening the overall decorative effect. Viewing the Sailboats exemplifies the self-taught style of Maurice Prendergast by merging several devices he favored throughout his career, experimentation with color and brushstroke applied to one of his favorite motifs, a promenade along the coast.
Prendergast was fascinated with the leisure activities of the new middle class at the turn of the century. Often observing crowds from a distance enjoying a promenade along the coast or through the park, Prendergast accumulated numerous sketchbooks and watercolors of these recreational scenes. These on-site sketches and watercolors were the primary basis for Prendergast's oils where his experimentation with color and form is most apparent.
Prendergast traveled abroad extensively throughout his career and appreciated the work of his European contemporaries such as C/aezanne, Matisse and Seurat. He embraced their brilliant color palette, conceding to color and brushstroke alone as a means of representation. Prendergast ". . . varied the brushstroke to suit the object represented: a twirl of a full brush for a parasol, a few broad strokes within a contour line for a female figure." (H. H.l Rhys, Maurice Prendergast, Cambridge, 1960, p. 42) In Viewing the Sailboats the viewer's eye is drawn to the brilliant pink of the woman's dress and the purple splash of the gentleman's top hat. These patches of color weave a pattern of movement across the canvas, emphasizing the motion of the holiday scene.
At the time this painting was executed Prendergast was experimenting with varied brushstroke throughout the canvas. "He transformed the regularity of the glowing, rich spots and dabs of color into irregular and curvilinear shaped patterns, brushstroke overlapping brushstroke..." (R. J. Wattenmaker, Maurice Prendergast, New York, 1994, p. 100) In Viewing the Sailboats, the rhythm of the brushstrokes in the foreground contrast sharply with the more controlled, horizontal brushstrokes in the sea and sky. The contrast of color and brushstroke emphasizes the three distinct horizontal bands within the picture: the shoreline, the sea and the sky. The soaring verticality of the trees interlocks the three horizontal forms. By using this array of devices Prendergast emphasizes the flatness of the surface heightening the overall decorative effect. Viewing the Sailboats exemplifies the self-taught style of Maurice Prendergast by merging several devices he favored throughout his career, experimentation with color and brushstroke applied to one of his favorite motifs, a promenade along the coast.