Distance Hills, Maine 1915

Maurice Prendergast made this painting, Distance Hills, Maine, using a kind of shorthand, almost like sketching with colors. The marks are quick, lively, and give the feeling of a scene caught in a glance. Look at the way he dabs and dashes the paint, layering blues, greens, and earthy tones. It’s like he's inviting us to piece the landscape together in our minds. Check out that one figure holding a red parasol, it’s almost cartoonish, so vividly red. Prendergast had a way of capturing movement and light with such simple means. It reminds me a little of Bonnard, with that same joy in everyday life and a similar broken, colourist style. Prendergast isn’t trying to give us all the answers. Instead, he’s embracing the beauty of the unfinished, the magic of suggestion.