Surf, Cohasset c. 1900 - 1905

Maurice Prendergast made this watercolor, Surf, Cohasset, sometime in his lifetime, probably en plein air. It’s so fluid and immediate. The color palette is very restrained, mostly blues, browns, and creams, but there’s so much going on within that limited range. I love the way he’s built up the image in layers, letting the watercolor pool and bleed, so that the rocks and figures seem to emerge from the wash. Look how Prendergast used a dry brush to add texture to the rocks, dragging the pigment across the surface to create this gritty, tactile feel. It’s almost like he’s building up the image in these tiny, mosaic-like touches. The whitecaps of the waves are these expressive slashes of white, really dynamic. Prendergast reminds me a little of Bonnard, that sense of capturing a fleeting moment with this casual, off-hand approach, but Prendergast has a distinctly American sensibility. It’s like a half-remembered dream, shimmering and elusive. Art offers possibilities, not answers!