Acadia 1923

Maurice Prendergast made "Acadia" with oil on canvas, and it now lives at MoMA. I find Prendergast’s mark-making so charming, the way he fearlessly applies these little dabs of color, like he's building the image out of pure sensation. You can really see the touch of the artist here. Look closely at the figure seated in the foreground, with the red and green polka dot skirt, those dots are placed so carefully, one by one, it’s like the whole painting is made of these moments of attention. The colors are so alive, they almost seem to vibrate. It’s not about blending or smoothing, it’s about letting each color have its own voice. It makes me think of Bonnard, with his intimate interiors and dappled light, and how he captured the fleeting moments of everyday life. I think Prendergast really understood that art is a conversation, a back-and-forth between artists across time. It’s so exciting to see how he takes those ideas and makes them his own.