Eight Bathers
Maurice Brazil Prendergast
(American (born in Canada), 1858–1924)
about 1918–23
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions71.12 x 61.59 cm (28 x 24 1/4 in.)
Credit LineA. Shuman Collection—Abraham Shuman Fund
Accession number61.663
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
Throughout his career, Prendergast painted idyllic scenes of ordinary people enjoying themselves in parks, boulevards, and ocean resorts. He became aware of contemporary art movements during six sojourns in Europe, and was one of the most avant-garde painters working in America during the early 1900s. In this tapestry-like late oil, Prendergast painted a timeless Arcadian vision with a modernist vocabulary - simplified, outlined figures, visible brushstrokes, and flat, bold patterning.
InscriptionsLower center: PrendergastProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. Charles Prendergast, the artist's sister-in-law, Westport, Conn.; to MFA, 1961, purchase.
about 1942
1964
Early 19th century
about 1860–70
late 1630s