May Day, Central Park 1903

Maurice Prendergast made this watercolour of Central Park with dancing figures at some point in his career. I love the all-overness of this painting. Prendergast has built up the image through luminous layers, with many tiny strokes and dots of bright colour. It's like a mosaic made with a brush, you know? Look closely and you'll see greens, blues, reds, and yellows. I imagine Prendergast, standing in the park on May Day, feeling the buzz of the crowd around him. Look at how the figures are suggested with just a few quick strokes – dashes of colour that evoke dresses, hats, and parasols. How does he capture the energy of the scene, the joy of a spring day in the city? Like other painters such as Vuillard or Bonnard, Prendergast was part of an ongoing conversation about how to capture fleeting moments of everyday life through colour, light, and pattern. Painting at its best, right?