Castle Island
Artist
Maurice Brazil Prendergast
(American, born Canada, 1858 - 1924)
Dateca. 1915-1918
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 18 9/16 x 28 1/4 inches (47.15 x 71.76 cm)
Framed: 25 1/2 x 35 3/8 x 1 1/2 inches (64.77 x 89.85 x 3.81 cm)
Framed: 25 1/2 x 35 3/8 x 1 1/2 inches (64.77 x 89.85 x 3.81 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph S. Atha
Object numberF58-57
SignedSigned lower left: Prendergast.
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 217
Collections
DescriptionIn heavy impasto, hill and tree, left, three trees and hill right; water, background, left, with sailboat facing left; sun, center top; foreground, twelve males and females standing, sitting, and reclining.Gallery LabelMaurice Prendergast first gained fame in the 1890s for his colorful and detailed watercolors of modern life. These often featured the fashionable parks, promenades and beach resorts of Boston, New York, Paris and Venice. In his late works, such as Castle Island, the artist returned to these subjects, but depicted them in a decorative style, characterized by rich color, thick brushwork and flattened spatial effects. The even distribution of figures and trees across Castle Island further flattens and balances its composition.
Castle Island in Boston Harbor was the site of a succession of forts and was not connected to the mainland until 1891. Thereafter, it became a popular gathering place for leisure activities.
Castle Island in Boston Harbor was the site of a succession of forts and was not connected to the mainland until 1891. Thereafter, it became a popular gathering place for leisure activities.
Maurice Prendergast Memorial Exhibition, exh. cat. (New York:
Whitney Museum of American Art, 1934), 16; The Prendergasts:
Retrospective Exhibition of the Work of Maurice and Charles Prendergast, exh. cat. (Andover, Mass.: Addison Gallery, 1938), 22; Margaret Breuning, “In the World of Art,” New York Journal American,
31 March 1940, 6M; Paintings by Maurice Prendergast, exh. brochure (New York: C. W. Kraushaar Art Galleries, 1940), unpaginated; Oil Paintings by “Men of Rebellion,” “The Eight,” exh. cat.
(Elmira, N.Y.: Arnot Art Museum, 1940), unpaginated; Exhibition
of Paintings by Maurice Prendergast with Watercolors by Charles
Demuth and Carl Kahler, exh. cat. (Chicago: Renaissance Society at University of Chicago, 1946), unpaginated; Hedley Howell
Rhys, “Maurice Prendergast: The Sources and Development of
His Style,” Ph.D. diss., Harvard University, 1952, 114–15, 155, fi g.
49; Leslie Katz, “The World of ‘The Eight,’” Arts Yearbook 1, the
Turn of the Century (New York: Art Digest, 1957), 62; “Ethics and
Art Tangle,” Kansas City Times, 7 November 1958, 4A; NAMA
1959, 257; Hedley Howell Rhys, Maurice Prendergast: 1859–1924,
exh. cat. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1960), 52;
Kansas City Collects, exh. cat. (Kansas City, Mo.: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts,
1965), unpaginated; NAMA 1973, 254; Donald Hoffmann, “Gallery
Adds Two Pieces to Its American Collection,” Kansas City Star, 12
April 1987, 8D; “Prendergast Painting Given to Museum,” Calendar (Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art), May 1987, 1–3; NAMA 1987,
178–79, 261; Carol Clark, Nancy Mowll Mathews, and Gwendolyn
Owens, Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonné (Williamstown, Mass.: Williams College Museum
of Art; Munich: Prestel-Verlag, 1990), 313; NAMA 1991, 143–44;
NAMA 1993a, 244.
Whitney Museum of American Art, 1934), 16; The Prendergasts:
Retrospective Exhibition of the Work of Maurice and Charles Prendergast, exh. cat. (Andover, Mass.: Addison Gallery, 1938), 22; Margaret Breuning, “In the World of Art,” New York Journal American,
31 March 1940, 6M; Paintings by Maurice Prendergast, exh. brochure (New York: C. W. Kraushaar Art Galleries, 1940), unpaginated; Oil Paintings by “Men of Rebellion,” “The Eight,” exh. cat.
(Elmira, N.Y.: Arnot Art Museum, 1940), unpaginated; Exhibition
of Paintings by Maurice Prendergast with Watercolors by Charles
Demuth and Carl Kahler, exh. cat. (Chicago: Renaissance Society at University of Chicago, 1946), unpaginated; Hedley Howell
Rhys, “Maurice Prendergast: The Sources and Development of
His Style,” Ph.D. diss., Harvard University, 1952, 114–15, 155, fi g.
49; Leslie Katz, “The World of ‘The Eight,’” Arts Yearbook 1, the
Turn of the Century (New York: Art Digest, 1957), 62; “Ethics and
Art Tangle,” Kansas City Times, 7 November 1958, 4A; NAMA
1959, 257; Hedley Howell Rhys, Maurice Prendergast: 1859–1924,
exh. cat. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1960), 52;
Kansas City Collects, exh. cat. (Kansas City, Mo.: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts,
1965), unpaginated; NAMA 1973, 254; Donald Hoffmann, “Gallery
Adds Two Pieces to Its American Collection,” Kansas City Star, 12
April 1987, 8D; “Prendergast Painting Given to Museum,” Calendar (Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art), May 1987, 1–3; NAMA 1987,
178–79, 261; Carol Clark, Nancy Mowll Mathews, and Gwendolyn
Owens, Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonné (Williamstown, Mass.: Williams College Museum
of Art; Munich: Prestel-Verlag, 1990), 313; NAMA 1991, 143–44;
NAMA 1993a, 244.
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information,
is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete.
Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a
particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum.
If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image,
please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.
