Maurice Brazil Prendergast (1858-1924 New York, NY)
"Sunday in the Park," circa 1910-1913
Oil on panel
Signed lower right: Prendergast
11.5" H x 16" W

Provenance: The artist; to Charles Prendergast, the artist's brother, 1924; to Mrs. Charles Prendergast, Eugenie Prendergast, 1948; The George Wasserman and Janice Wasserman Goldsten Family Collection, Washington, D.C., 1950.

Literature: Carol Clark, Gwendolyn Owens, Nancy Mowll Mathews, "Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonne", Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA, 1990, p. 266, no. 273, illustrated.

Notes: Working as a young man in Boston during the late 19th century, Maurice Prendergast was apprenticed to a commercial artist and by 1879 was working as a painter of show cards for a local firm. The genesis of his style, Prendergast's early work with commercial painting introduced him to bright colors and flat patterning effects, which would become a hallmark of his later oeuvre. Such experience also brought Prendergast into contact with watercolor, a medium with which he almost exclusively worked until the turn of the century. Watercolors allowed Prendergast a level of spontaneity and portability to explore the subject matter for which he is well-known, slowly building the experience and eye of a young artist.

Continuing his work as a commercial painter through a trip to England in 1886-87, Prendergast moved to Paris in 1887 after a brief return to the United States and would remain in France until 1891. This period saw the artist receive his first formal artistic training, studying at both the Atelier Colarossi and the Académie Julian. Perhaps more influential than his studies were the acquaintances he made in France, including the English avant-garde artists Walter Sickert and Aubrey Beardsley, and the Post- Impressionists Pierre Bonnard and Edouard Vuillard. During this time, Prendergast developed a style that has been compared to a mosaic or tapestry, similar to the pointillism of Georges Seurat. His works are bright, with bold, jewel-like colors woven together to create an at once expressive and vibrant composition, greater than, yet entirely dependent on the sum of its parts. Taking a cue from the subject matter of the Impressionists whose works he had studied, Prendergast's paintings focus on crowds of the genteel middle class in varying genre scenes, each figure anonymous yet an integral part of the whole.

Such is Sunday in the Park, a subtle yet striking composition created circa 1910-1913. Anchoring the scene are three women, their dresses pink. blue and yellow, although under closer inspection, a palette of hues emerge in each brushstroke. Facing the viewer, the women draw our gaze into the park, pulling us into the depths of the leafy green shade. Dappled sunlight plays across the ground, figures, and branches, weaving the tapestry of Prendergast's vision, absorbing and reflecting bright jewels of color. The bright sunlit background behind the tree trunks provides an otherwise unobtainable depth of field to Prendergasts's composition, while the swift strokes of dark green, light green, light brown, and burnt orange create the layered foliage of the park's canopy. This scene, simply a day in the park, becomes a jewel of a memory, a warming and comforting time capsule of a leisurely Sunday before the shadows lengthen and the crowd returns home.

While there is nothing shocking about the present work, Prendergast was seen as an incredibly modern and avant-garde artist for the time. Opposed to the conservative, academic nature of American painting at the turn of the century, he was invited to show seven paintings at the landmark 1913 Armory Show in New York, the largest exhibition of modern art in America at the time and a turning point in American art history. Although a reportedly shy and conservative man, Prendergast's paintings were anything but, and his vibrant yet approachable works serve as an excellent bridge between the American art of the 19th century and the modern American masters of the 20th.

Conditions of Sale

AUCTION HOUSE AS AGENT
Except as otherwise stated, John Moran Auctioneers Moran's) acts as agent for the seller. The contract for the sale of the property is therefore made between the seller and the buyer.

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CREDIT CARDS, CONTINUED

Buyers outside the United States must submit payment via wire transfer. Credit cards are not an accepted form of payment for buyers outside the United States.

TAXES

Applicable California sales tax applies.

CONTRACT

Except as otherwise stated, John Moran Auctioneers (Moran's) acts as agent for the seller. The contract for the sale of the property is therefore made between the seller and the buyer.

SALE CONDITIONS

The buyer agrees to pay the sum of the hammer price plus Buyer's Premium, plus any applicable sales tax. Buyer's Premium is calculated as follows: 25% on the first $500,000 of the hammer price, plus 18% on any amount between $500,001 - $1,000,000, and 15% on any amount above $1,000,000 when paying by cash, check or wire transfer. Sucessful bidders using Live Auctioneers platform will be charged a Buyer's Premium of: 28% on the first $500,000 of the hammer price, plus 21% on any amount between $500,001 - $1,000,000, and 18% on any amount above $1,000,000 when paying by cash, check or wire transfer.

Credit card payments will be subject to an additional 2% buyer's premium. Buyers outside the United States must submit payment via wire transfer. Credit cards are not an accepted form of payment for buyers outside the United States. Buyers are strongly encouraged to provide full payment at the auction. Payment must be received by Moran's within five business days immediately following the auction. The buyer shall not acquire title or take possession of the lot until all amounts (including the hammer price, premium and applicable taxes) due to Moran's have been paid in full.

SHIPPING

Buyers are responsible for arranging their own shipping estimates and deliveries. Moran's in our discretion and as a courtesy to buyers, can arrange to have purchased lots packed, insured and forwarded by a third-party shipper at the request, expense and risk of the buyer. Moran's assumes no responsibility for acts or omissions in such packing or shipping by other packers or carriers, even if recommended by Moran's. Nor does Moran's assume any responsibility for any damage to picture frames or to the glass therein. In circumstances where Moran's arranges for such third-party services, Moran's may apply an administration charge of 15% of that service fee.

BUYERS PREMIUM

The buyer agrees to pay the sum of the hammer price plus Buyer's Premium, plus any applicable sales tax. Buyer's Premium is calculated as follows: 25% on the first $500,000 of the hammer price, plus 18% on any amount between $500,001 - $1,000,000, and 15% on any amount above $1,000,000 when paying by cash, check or wire transfer. Sucessful bidders using Live Auctioneers platform will be charged a Buyer's Premium of: 28% on the first $500,000 of the hammer price, plus 21% on any amount between $500,001 - $1,000,000, and 18% on any amount above $1,000,000 when paying by cash, check or wire transfer.

Credit card payments will be subject to an additional 2% buyer's premium. Buyers outside the United States must submit payment via wire transfer. Credit cards are not an accepted form of payment for buyers outside the United States. Buyers are strongly encouraged to provide full payment at the auction. Payment must be received by Moran's within five business days immediately following the auction. The buyer shall not acquire title or take possession of the lot until all amounts (including the hammer price, premium and applicable taxes) due to Moran's have been paid in full.

CONDITION

Buyers are responsible for determining to their own satisfaction the true nature and condition of any lot prior to bidding. Though buyers are not legally required to inspect lots prior to purchase, failure to do so may constitute a waiver of complaint that an item was not delivered in a condition equal to the existent condition at the auction.