Lot Essay
Maurice Prendergast set time aside each summer for "extended holidays, during which [he] painted along the beaches and parks of New England. Favorite motifs in the immediate vicinity of Boston included Gloucester, Annisquam, Marblehead, Salem, Nahant, Revere Beach, Beachmont, Boston Harbor, Nantasket, and Cohasset." (R.J. Wattenmaker, Maurice Prendergast, New York, 1994, p. 71). Cohasset Beach is a wonderful example of the many watercolors which Prendergast produced in the early 1900s during one of these summers.
He had begun to explore "simplified, summary boldly drawn watercolors in a limited tonal range, in which color application became less dainty and more diffused and the dark-light contrast was stressed." (R.J. Wattenmaker, Maurice Prendergast, p. 79) The colors in Cohasset Beach remain rich and bold, and Prendergast continued to convey the lively summer atmosphere at the beach which he so enjoyed.
He had begun to explore "simplified, summary boldly drawn watercolors in a limited tonal range, in which color application became less dainty and more diffused and the dark-light contrast was stressed." (R.J. Wattenmaker, Maurice Prendergast, p. 79) The colors in Cohasset Beach remain rich and bold, and Prendergast continued to convey the lively summer atmosphere at the beach which he so enjoyed.