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In 1908 Prendergast was invited to exhibit in a landmark exhibit “The Eight.” Organized by Robert Henri, the show was named after the eight painters represented in the exhibit— Prendergast, Henri, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, William Glackens, George Luks, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan. It was intended as a protest to the narrow taste in art held by the National Academy of Design. This pivotal exhibition prompted new ideas about what was acceptable subject matter for paintings.
Exhibition History“An Exhibition of Paintings by a Group of Boston Artists,” MacBeth Galleries, New York, NY, April 1909, no. 27 (as Brimstone Corner).
“Exhibition of Paintings by Charles Hopkinson, Charles Harvey Pepper, Maurice Prendergast,” Boston Copley Gallery, Boston, MA, March 1911, no. 14 (as Brimstone Corner).
“America and Impressionism,” Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH, October-November 1951.
ProvenanceThe artist.
Charles Prendergast, brother of the above, 1924.
Mrs. Charles Prendergast, wife of the above, 1948.
Kraushaar Galleries, New York.
Victoria Thorne Matthews, 1956.
A. Bruce Matthews.
Sotheby's, New York, 2 December 1993, lot 115, sold by the above.
Acquired by Ann and Gordon Getty from the above.
Christie's, Oct. 18, 2023
Artist
Maurice Brazil Prendergast
(American, 1859 - 1924)
Snowy Day, Boston
Date1907-1910
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsSight: 19 1/4 × 25 1/2 in. (48.9 × 64.8 cm)
Object numberN0021.2023
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust.
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextPrendergast spent three years in Paris studying at the Académie Colarossi and the Académie Julian. In Paris he discovered the styles and influence of the Post-Impressionists, including Cézanne, Édouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard. Adapting Cézanne’s expressive use of color and form, Prendergast developed a highly personal style with boldly contrasting, jewel-like colors, and flattened, patternlike forms rhythmically arranged on a canvas. Like many of his other works, Snowy Day, Boston, which depicts Brimstone Corner by the Park Street Church in Boston, has been described as tapestry-like or resembling a mosaic.In 1908 Prendergast was invited to exhibit in a landmark exhibit “The Eight.” Organized by Robert Henri, the show was named after the eight painters represented in the exhibit— Prendergast, Henri, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, William Glackens, George Luks, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan. It was intended as a protest to the narrow taste in art held by the National Academy of Design. This pivotal exhibition prompted new ideas about what was acceptable subject matter for paintings.
Exhibition History“An Exhibition of Paintings by a Group of Boston Artists,” MacBeth Galleries, New York, NY, April 1909, no. 27 (as Brimstone Corner).
“Exhibition of Paintings by Charles Hopkinson, Charles Harvey Pepper, Maurice Prendergast,” Boston Copley Gallery, Boston, MA, March 1911, no. 14 (as Brimstone Corner).
“America and Impressionism,” Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH, October-November 1951.
ProvenanceThe artist.
Charles Prendergast, brother of the above, 1924.
Mrs. Charles Prendergast, wife of the above, 1948.
Kraushaar Galleries, New York.
Victoria Thorne Matthews, 1956.
A. Bruce Matthews.
Sotheby's, New York, 2 December 1993, lot 115, sold by the above.
Acquired by Ann and Gordon Getty from the above.
Christie's, Oct. 18, 2023
On View
On view
