Maurice Brazil Prendergast

Maurice Brazil Prendergast (1858-1924), American painter, born in St. John's, Newfoundland, and trained in art as a painter of advertising placards in Boston and later in France and Italy. He returned to Boston in 1900. Prendergast was a member of The Eight, a group of artists led by Robert Henri. The group had an influential exhibition in 1908; they broke with the academic tradition that reigned at the time and proposed that painting be connected to everyday life. In 1914 he moved to New York City, where he spent the remainder of his life. His work is characterized by rich, powerful color applied in dots and in short brushstrokes. Many of his subjects are landscapes with figures, as for example, Central Park (1901, Whitney Museum, New York City). A number are of the seashore. Others include Boston street scenes and sketches of Neapolitan and Venetian life.