500 piece puzzle, "Umbrellas in the Rain, Venice" by Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Battle Road Press, USA.
A recent acquisition that I wanted to check for completeness, here's yet another Venice and Prendergast puzzle. This one comes from the period when they were still located in Lexington, Mass., so no later than the early 1990s.
From the box bottom:
Umbrellas in the Rain, Venice by Maurice Brazil Prendergast, American, 1859-1924; Pencil and Watercolor 1899 (13 3/4" x 20 1/2")
Maurice Prendergast was born in Newfoundland and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. Prendergast had little formal education and no training in art until his first visit to Paris wen he was over 30 years old. Then, however, he quickly adopted the Post-Impressionistic techniques.
Parades, carnivals, parks, seaside resorts, and people at play - these became his favorite subjects. An excellent example is Umbrellas in the Rain, painted in Venice in 1899. Like Renoir, Prendergast preferred subjects representing women and children out-of-doors. His oils and watercolors are infused with Impressionistic brilliance.
Post-Impressionists Gauguin and Seurat and the Nabis Vuillard and Bonnard had the greatest impact on Prendergast's work. Warm colors and bold brush strokes did not merely define objects in Prendergast's work; they existed as independent, decorative elements of design. In this fashion, he created from the substance of reality his own subjective, fantasy world.
In Boston, Prendergast received little recognition or encouragement from the art establishment. In 1914 he moved to New York City where he found a more sympathetic audience. Throughout his later years he continued to rearrange and synthesize visual impressions to produce pictures increasingly abstract and decorative in effect. Today, Prendergast is remembered as one of the true artistic innovators in twentieth century America.
In 1959 the Boston Museum celebrated the 100th anniversary of Prendergast's birth with a large exhibit of his works. Concerning that occasion, Perry T. Rathbone who was then Director, said "... the Museum frankly seeks ... to repay a debt long owed him." The Museum now owns over thirty oils, watercolors and monotypes by Prendergast and some 130 notebooks and sketchbooks that document his career.
The Williams College Museum of Art in my hometown features the largest collection in the world of Maurice's and his brother Charles' artworks; if you are interested in learning more, check out the Prendergast Archive & Study Center.
A very easy puzzle due to the bright colors and linear elements. The cut pattern seems less imaginative than other Battle Road releases.
Completed in 1 hr., 39 mins. with no box reference. 550 total pieces: 10.8 secs./piece; 333.3 pcs./hr. Difficulty rating: 1.1/10.
500 piece puzzle, "Umbrellas in the Rain, Venice" by Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Battle Road Press, USA.
A recent acquisition that I wanted to check for completeness, here's yet another Venice and Prendergast puzzle. This one comes from the period when they were still located in Lexington, Mass., so no later than the early 1990s.
From the box bottom:
Umbrellas in the Rain, Venice by Maurice Brazil Prendergast, American, 1859-1924; Pencil and Watercolor 1899 (13 3/4" x 20 1/2")
Maurice Prendergast was born in Newfoundland and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. Prendergast had little formal education and no training in art until his first visit to Paris wen he was over 30 years old. Then, however, he quickly adopted the Post-Impressionistic techniques.
Parades, carnivals, parks, seaside resorts, and people at play - these became his favorite subjects. An excellent example is Umbrellas in the Rain, painted in Venice in 1899. Like Renoir, Prendergast preferred subjects representing women and children out-of-doors. His oils and watercolors are infused with Impressionistic brilliance.
Post-Impressionists Gauguin and Seurat and the Nabis Vuillard and Bonnard had the greatest impact on Prendergast's work. Warm colors and bold brush strokes did not merely define objects in Prendergast's work; they existed as independent, decorative elements of design. In this fashion, he created from the substance of reality his own subjective, fantasy world.
In Boston, Prendergast received little recognition or encouragement from the art establishment. In 1914 he moved to New York City where he found a more sympathetic audience. Throughout his later years he continued to rearrange and synthesize visual impressions to produce pictures increasingly abstract and decorative in effect. Today, Prendergast is remembered as one of the true artistic innovators in twentieth century America.
In 1959 the Boston Museum celebrated the 100th anniversary of Prendergast's birth with a large exhibit of his works. Concerning that occasion, Perry T. Rathbone who was then Director, said "... the Museum frankly seeks ... to repay a debt long owed him." The Museum now owns over thirty oils, watercolors and monotypes by Prendergast and some 130 notebooks and sketchbooks that document his career.
The Williams College Museum of Art in my hometown features the largest collection in the world of Maurice's and his brother Charles' artworks; if you are interested in learning more, check out the Prendergast Archive & Study Center.
A very easy puzzle due to the bright colors and linear elements. The cut pattern seems less imaginative than other Battle Road releases.
Completed in 1 hr., 39 mins. with no box reference. 550 total pieces: 10.8 secs./piece; 333.3 pcs./hr. Difficulty rating: 1.1/10.