Woman with a Parasol 1902

Maurice Prendergast made "Woman with a Parasol" using a monotype technique. You can see the layers of ink sitting right there on the surface, this physical quality gets me thinking about process. When I look at the strokes that make up the woman's dress, I see how one mark responds to the next in a kind of dance. The whole thing feels a bit dreamlike, like a memory or a fleeting impression. It's as though the artist is inviting us to see not just the woman, but the act of seeing itself. Those white highlights along the bottom of her dress create a subtle rhythm. The painting reminds me of Whistler. Prendergast, like Whistler, had an eye for capturing everyday moments with a sense of poetry and grace, reminding us that art isn't about perfection, it's about the messy, beautiful process of trying to make sense of the world around us.