Bathers 1919

Maurice Prendergast made this small watercolor sketch called ‘Bathers’, and it’s like a joyful explosion of colour and movement, the kind you can only capture with that quick, watery medium. I can just imagine him, maybe lugging his kit down to the beach, sun blazing, already thinking about how to scoop up the scene. And what a scene! It’s full of figures, a whole community of people enjoying the seaside – some are swimming, some are riding a boat, others are just lounging around. Prendergast isn't trying to capture every detail, but rather the feeling of a lively summer’s day. There are lots of reds and blues, and the paint is applied so freely – you can almost feel the breeze and smell the salt water. That one figure in the middle, arms outstretched, feels like the heart of the painting, radiating joy. It reminds me of other painters who were grappling with how to capture modern life, like Bonnard. And in the end, it’s not just a picture of bathers; it’s about human connection, about being in the moment. It’s about how artists learn from each other, how they keep the conversation going across time.