Prendergast, Maurice Brazil, 1859–1924, American painter, b. St. John's, N.L., Canada, educated in Boston. In 1886 he worked his way to Europe on a cattle boat and studied in Paris at Julian's and at the Colarossi Academy. His brother, Charles Prendergast (1869–1948), an artist and frame maker, often assisted him financially. He again went abroad in the early 1890s, and during the rest of his life he gravitated between New York City and Europe, visiting various countries. In New York he joined the independent group of artists called the Eight. Prendergast evolved a style akin to postimpressionism. Much freer in his brushstroke, his landscapes and figure compositions evoked the quality of a gay tapestry. His Promenade, Gloucester (Whitney Mus., New York City) is characteristic. He is well represented in the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, and in other leading collections throughout the United States.
See catalog by R. J. Wattenmaker (1968); studies by M. Bruening (1931) and H. H. Rhys (1960).
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