Promenade

A participant in both the 1908 exhibition by The Eight and the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art (known as the Armory Show), two landmark events in introducing and promoting modern art in the United States, Prendergast was one of the most daring American artists of the early twentieth century. Showing the influence of European movements such as Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, especially the work of Edouard Vuillard, but with the artist’s innate brilliance for handling color and texture, Prendergast’s paintings have often been compared to tapestries, mosaics and stained glass. Prendergast often depicted parks, beaches and other public spaces, shimmering with sunlight and populated by elegantly dressed crowds, reflective of American’s growing leisure time thanks to turn of the century industrialization. In Promenade, thought to be a depiction of Cape Ann, near Gloucester, Massachusetts, Prendergast characteristically built his jewel-like colors through softly textured layering of paint, a vivacity that stands in contrast with the decoratively still, almost sculptural poses of his figures.