In Central Park, New York 1901

Maurice Prendergast made "In Central Park, New York" using watercolor, and what a joyful record it is of a single moment in time. You can almost feel him dabbing at the paper, trying to catch the light as it flickers through the trees. I imagine Prendergast was trying to capture the essence of the park, the feeling of people enjoying themselves, so he let the colors blend and blur. Notice how he renders the figures with just a few strokes, capturing the feeling of movement and energy. I love the way he uses color to create depth and atmosphere, like the hazy blues and purples in the background that suggest the distance. The dog on the left, the figures in red… you get the sense of New York as a place of spectacle. I’m reminded of other Impressionists and Post-Impressionists who were trying to capture fleeting moments in time, but Prendergast's work has a unique charm. Like all painters he teaches us how to see the world anew.