Autumn in New England 1913

Here's a sweet little watercolor scene by Maurice Prendergast. Just look at the brushstrokes— they're so light and airy, capturing the fleeting light of an autumn day, and the yellows, blues, and greens create such a harmonious, joyful feeling. You can tell Prendergast was totally in the moment. I imagine him standing there, squinting and dashing off these quick, expressive marks. He’s trying to capture the sensation of being in that landscape, more than trying to make a photo-realistic copy of the scene. He's not trying to get the colors exactly right but to give the feeling of the warmth of the sun or the coolness of the shade. It's kind of amazing how much he suggests with so few strokes, almost like he is leaving space for the viewer to complete the painting. Like many painters before and after him, he is experimenting with how to flatten the space, playing with foreground and background. It’s as if the whole history of painting is folded into this one small picture. You can see him learning from Cezanne but going somewhere entirely his own.