1909 (ca.), Maurice Brazil Prendergast, The Holiday -- de Young Museum (San Francisco)
From the museum label:
Inspired by the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist styles he encountered during his studies in Paris, Maurice Brazil Prendergast emphasized formal rhythms and tonal harmonies in his compositions. In this lively scene, Prendergast outlined figures, trees, and water using short, flat brushstrokes of jewel- toned colors. This parklike setting along the New England coast represents the development of leisure sites outside urban centers at the turn of the century. Such areas had become increasingly accessible to city dwellers traveling by railway, trolleys, and automobiles.
Prendergast captured the joyful energies of well-dressed holiday makers who are shown promenading with parasols held aloft or seated on the grass. The predominance of female leisure seekers reflects the era's gradual easing of gender-based societal strictures, such as the expectation that women should appear in public only with male accompaniment.
1909 (ca.), Maurice Brazil Prendergast, The Holiday -- de Young Museum (San Francisco)
From the museum label:
Inspired by the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist styles he encountered during his studies in Paris, Maurice Brazil Prendergast emphasized formal rhythms and tonal harmonies in his compositions. In this lively scene, Prendergast outlined figures, trees, and water using short, flat brushstrokes of jewel- toned colors. This parklike setting along the New England coast represents the development of leisure sites outside urban centers at the turn of the century. Such areas had become increasingly accessible to city dwellers traveling by railway, trolleys, and automobiles.
Prendergast captured the joyful energies of well-dressed holiday makers who are shown promenading with parasols held aloft or seated on the grass. The predominance of female leisure seekers reflects the era's gradual easing of gender-based societal strictures, such as the expectation that women should appear in public only with male accompaniment.