Ladies in a Seaside Arbor 1915

Maurice Prendergast made ‘Ladies in a Seaside Arbor’ with oil on canvas. The painting is made up of tiny mosaic like touches, each dab carefully placed and full of light. It's like Prendergast is building a party, piece by piece, using color as his building block. You can almost feel him, brush in hand, stepping back, squinting, and then adding another little burst of joy to the canvas. Looking at it, I imagine Prendergast thinking about Bonnard, about how to capture the essence of a fleeting moment. The scene is bathed in sunlight, with women chatting under the dappled shade of trees. The paint is thin, almost translucent, giving the whole scene a sense of airiness. The way the figures are rendered, with just a few strokes, reminds me of the Fauves, those wild beasts of color. It's not about perfection or realism. It’s about capturing a feeling, a mood, a sensation of being alive.