Landscape With Figures c. 1918 - 1923

Maurice Prendergast made this painting, Landscape With Figures, sometime in his career using oil paint on canvas. Can you imagine him dabbing these marks, building up the surface with these little touches of paint? I bet Prendergast felt like he was weaving a tapestry with his brush. I can almost hear the clatter of horses' hooves and the chatter of people enjoying a day out. The artist must have wanted to capture a fleeting moment of leisure and pleasure, using these quick brushstrokes to create the atmosphere of a park in real-time. It's not about details but more about feeling, a sort of poetic impression. The pinks and blues work together beautifully, don’t they? He's in conversation with painters like Bonnard and Vuillard, these guys are all investigating how painting can create a feeling of intimacy and immediacy. It’s like they're all in a big, beautiful, never-ending art class together.