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Eight Bathers
Maurice Brazil Prendergast (American (born in Canada), 1858–1924)
about 1918–23
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
71.12 x 61.59 cm (28 x 24 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
A. Shuman Collection—Abraham Shuman Fund
Accession Number61.663
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsPaintings
Throughout his career, Prendergast painted idyllic scenes of ordinary people enjoying themselves in parks, boulevards, and ocean resorts. He became aware of contemporary art movements during six sojourns in Europe, and was one of the most avant-garde painters working in America during the early 1900s. In this tapestry-like late oil, Prendergast painted a timeless Arcadian vision with a modernist vocabulary - simplified, outlined figures, visible brushstrokes, and flat, bold patterning.
InscriptionsLower center: Prendergast
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. Charles Prendergast, the artist's sister-in-law, Westport, Conn.; to MFA, 1961, purchase.