Hailed as one of the preeminent figures in the history of American modernism, Maurice Prendergast combined the stylistic and technical strategies of Post-lmpressionism with his subjective response to the world around him. In so doing, he produced a distinctive manner of painting based on simplified forms, bright colors, and lively patterning that set him apart from the artistic mainstream in the United States.

Born in St. John's, Newfoundland, Prendergast settled with his family in Boston in 1868. He began his career by working for a commercial firm that produced showcards, and through this means acquired a familiarity with watercolor, which remained his principal medium until 1900. He began painting during the late 1880s, working in beach resorts around Boston.

In 1891 he went to Paris, studying at the Academies Julian and Colarossi. Most importantly, through his contact with the Canadian painter James Wilson Morrice, he developed a familiarity with vanguard art -especially Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Japonisme, and the work of the Nabis painters Pierre Bonnard and Edouard Vuillard - all of which influenced his style.

He returned to Boston in 1894 and began exhibiting locally and in New York. He showed with Robert Henri and other New York realists at the National Arts Club in 1904 and four years later at the Macbeth Gallery with the Eight. He turned increasingly to oil after 1900.

A trip to Paris in 1907 brought him into contact with the work of Paul Cezanne and Fauvism, which further influenced his work. Prendergast settled in New York in 1914. He applied his unique aesthetic to scenes of contemporary leisure, portraying people at beaches and parks or strolling through city streets.

Biography courtesy of Roughton Galleries, www.antiquesandfineart.com/roughton

Maurice Prendergast based his artistic studied in Paris at the Acadamie Julian from 1887-89 and the Acadamie Colarossi from 18991-95. His second trip to Paris was financed by him and his brother Charles, who constantly contributed to Maurice's artist endeavors. The two worked for four years to enable Maurice to continue his studies. The three years of study spent at Acadamie Colarossi brought to his work a Neo-Impressionism influence. Later in 1898, while in Europe, Prendergast was inspired by Italian Renaissance work and began to produce complicated compositions with a mosaic, tapestry-style compression of perspective and scale. Prendergast was a Modernist best known for his lively beach and park scenes done in bold contour forms with decorative patterning and bright color. He was the most internationally known member of The Eight. Prendergast exhibited in the 1913 Armory Show and was criticized for his radical intentions, mostly associated with The Eight.

Biography courtesy of The Caldwell Gallery, www.antiquesandfineart.com/caldwell