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Lot Essay
Celebrated as one of America’s greatest frame-makers and beloved for his whimsical, imaginative designs, Charles Prendergast created only three large-scale screens over the course of his prolific career. The present work, executed in 1937, represents the last work in the series and his ultimate exploration of the screen design. Dating to the artist’s final period, which was defined by motifs of modern leisure, each panel of this screen is a joyful exploration of the pleasures of daily life in the early twentieth century.
Without precedent in the history of American art, Prendergast's painting style is immediately recognizable, yet his art did transform and change over time and can be divided into three distinct periods or styles. Prendergast executed one screen per period of his career, the first during his “Celestial” phase (circa 1912-28), the second in his “Transitional” phase (circa 1928-35) and the present work represents the final of the three screens, executed during his “Modern” phase (circa 1935-48). While earlier periods explored classical, medieval and fantasy subjects, the Modern period focused on more contemporaneous subjects of modern leisure and childlike joy executed in the American folk style, celebrating pure form that was popularized in the 1930s.
In the present work, the artist delights in the simple pleasures of modern life such as sailing, picnicking and horseback riding, while vignettes of scampering animals and children holding balloons suggest an overall mood of innocence. The idyllic subjects here mirror that of the artist’s older brother Maurice Prendergast, who devoted his career to pleasant images of modern-day leisure scenes painted in flat, colorful forms. On the reverse of the present work, a repeating decorative motif of birds and trees underscores Prendergast’s singular talent as both a decorative craftsman and fine artist.
While contemporary in subject, the method of production for Prendergast’s screen dates back to early Italian Renaissance panel painters. Proud to have been one of very few artists working in this technique, Prendergast wrote in 1935, “My work is done in gesso the old Italian method. I use tempera colors–also gold and silver leaf…I am about the only man in America doing this kind of work…” (as quoted in The Art of Charles Prendergast from the Collections of the Williams College Museum of Art & Mrs. Charles Prendergast, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1993, p. 39)
This classical technique for his paintings blossomed around 1912, following a highly inspiring trip to Italy the year before. As Nancy M. Mathews points out, Italy was a revelation to him; he loved the sensation of stepping into the past.” (The Art of Charles Prendergast from the Collections of Williams College Museum of Art & Mrs. Charles Prendergast, p. 15) In addition to the wonderful frames and antique carved furniture he saw, Prendergast was struck by the brilliancy of the gold leaf shimmering on the surfaces of the quattrocento and cinquecento masterpieces. From this point forward, gilding not only embellished his frames but became a prominent element in his paintings, as seen in the present work.
Without precedent in the history of American art, Prendergast's painting style is immediately recognizable, yet his art did transform and change over time and can be divided into three distinct periods or styles. Prendergast executed one screen per period of his career, the first during his “Celestial” phase (circa 1912-28), the second in his “Transitional” phase (circa 1928-35) and the present work represents the final of the three screens, executed during his “Modern” phase (circa 1935-48). While earlier periods explored classical, medieval and fantasy subjects, the Modern period focused on more contemporaneous subjects of modern leisure and childlike joy executed in the American folk style, celebrating pure form that was popularized in the 1930s.
In the present work, the artist delights in the simple pleasures of modern life such as sailing, picnicking and horseback riding, while vignettes of scampering animals and children holding balloons suggest an overall mood of innocence. The idyllic subjects here mirror that of the artist’s older brother Maurice Prendergast, who devoted his career to pleasant images of modern-day leisure scenes painted in flat, colorful forms. On the reverse of the present work, a repeating decorative motif of birds and trees underscores Prendergast’s singular talent as both a decorative craftsman and fine artist.
While contemporary in subject, the method of production for Prendergast’s screen dates back to early Italian Renaissance panel painters. Proud to have been one of very few artists working in this technique, Prendergast wrote in 1935, “My work is done in gesso the old Italian method. I use tempera colors–also gold and silver leaf…I am about the only man in America doing this kind of work…” (as quoted in The Art of Charles Prendergast from the Collections of the Williams College Museum of Art & Mrs. Charles Prendergast, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1993, p. 39)
This classical technique for his paintings blossomed around 1912, following a highly inspiring trip to Italy the year before. As Nancy M. Mathews points out, Italy was a revelation to him; he loved the sensation of stepping into the past.” (The Art of Charles Prendergast from the Collections of Williams College Museum of Art & Mrs. Charles Prendergast, p. 15) In addition to the wonderful frames and antique carved furniture he saw, Prendergast was struck by the brilliancy of the gold leaf shimmering on the surfaces of the quattrocento and cinquecento masterpieces. From this point forward, gilding not only embellished his frames but became a prominent element in his paintings, as seen in the present work.