Crescent Beach (also known as Crescent Beach, St. Malo) 1907

Maurice Prendergast made this painting, Crescent Beach, with oil on canvas, and look at those lively brushstrokes! I can imagine Prendergast outside, squinting against the sun, trying to capture the shimmer of the water and those blobby clouds. The colors! They're not quite how you'd expect—blues and greens swirling in the sky like the sea has been turned upside down. Then on the beach, spots of red and purple which might be people, maybe umbrellas, or just pure invention. He’s using the paint kind of like a mosaic. I'm sure he looked at Impressionists like Monet. But it’s also doing its own thing. Prendergast found his own voice to describe the world around him. Isn’t that what we all want? He allows us to be present, to feel the sun and the salt air even if we're standing in a gallery. It’s not perfect, maybe a little weird, but that's what makes it so special.