Franklin Park, Boston 1897

Maurice Prendergast made this watercolour painting of Franklin Park in Boston sometime around the turn of the twentieth century. A bustling scene unfolds before us, one where leisure and civic identity intertwine. The American flag flies proudly above a red-brick building, likely an institutional structure within the park. Below, a crowd gathers, a sea of umbrellas and fashionable hats suggesting a middle-class gathering. Here we see an early modern vision of a society coming together in shared public space. Prendergast's loose brushstrokes and bright palette evoke a sense of spontaneity and joy. But what does it mean to represent public space this way? Was it intended as a mirror of social reality, or as a progressive vision of social possibility? What were the debates about public life during this time in Boston? Historians can turn to period newspapers, city planning documents, and social club records to understand the complex meanings of this seemingly simple scene. By exploring such resources, the historian brings into focus the artwork's social and institutional context.