South Boston Pier (also known as Atlantic City Pier) 1896

"South Boston Pier," created by Maurice Prendergast in watercolor, offers us a window into leisure and society at the turn of the century. Prendergast, who was working during a time of significant social change, captures a moment of apparent calm and festivity on what may well be a rainy day. Here, the figures, many women and children, are adorned in fashionable dresses and hats, perhaps a reflection of the aspirations and social roles of women in the late 19th century. But who are these people? Do they represent the burgeoning middle class, and what does their leisurely promenade suggest about class and access to public spaces? The emotional tone of the piece is muted by the weather, yet the scene is still suggestive of a collective identity being formed in this new space of modern leisure. This piece allows us to consider not only who had the privilege to occupy such spaces, but also the underlying social dynamics at play in these public encounters.