The Collection of Ann & Gordon Getty: Wheatland
Maurice Brazil Prendergast was an American post-Impressionist painter known for the vibrant and saturated colors he used in his work, mostly in the genre of landscape and urban life. In 1886 Prendergast moved to Paris, where he studied at the École Julien under the tutelage of the masters of Impressionism, including Paul Cézanne, who had a great influence on Prendergast's style.
After his return to the United States in 1891, Prendergast became a popularizer of Impressionism in the United States. His work became brighter and more saturated in color than other American artists of the time, and he began to use a dotted style similar to the technique of divisionism. His paintings became similar to tapestries or mosaics.
Prendergast became a member of a group of artists known as the Founders of American Art, who advocated the use of bright and saturated colors instead of the muted and earthy tones adopted in traditional American art. Prendergast left behind a legacy that laid the foundation for the development of Post-Impressionism and Modernism in American art.
