Estimated Price:

$80,000 - $100,000

Realized Price:

$95,000

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Sgn. Prendergast lower right. W/C. Maurice Brazil Prendergast, was an American Impressionist Painter, illustrator, printmaker, designer, and watercolorist. He was born in 1859 in New Foundland, but grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts. According to his brother Charles, a successful frame carver and talented artist, Maurice spent every minute of his time sketching. He left school after only eight or nine years, going to work at a commercial art firm. Maurice went to Paris in 1892, and first studied under Gustave Courtois. He then moved to the Acad'emie Julian, and met Canadian painter James Wilson Morris, who influenced him to begin painting pochades, which were small sketches on wood panels of elegantly dressed women and playful children at seaside resorts of Dieppe and Saint-Malo. In Paris, Maurice's work expanded into a sophisticated modern style inspired by post-impressionists. In 1895, Maurice Prendergast returned to the U.S., joining his brother in Massachusetts. He worked in oils, watercolor, and monotype. He continued to focus on women, men, and children at leisure, with a keen ability to capture them naturally and candidly strolling through parks, enjoying beaches, or walking through city streets. In 1899, he returned from spending a year back in Venice, with a series of watercolors of the city. In 1900, the Macbeth Galleries in New York staged an exhibition of his original oil paintings, where he was one of only eight artists being exhibited (and the only Bostonian in the show). In 1907, he returned again to France, and was profoundly influenced by Ce'zanne and the fauves. He then integrated these influences into his work, resulting in startling, brilliant colors and staccato brush strokes. As one of The Eight, Maurice Prendergast's artwork was heavily criticized for his abstract qualities of form and color, yet this eventually set him apart from other American painters of his time. In 1913, Maurice participated in the Armory Show, where he was said to be the only American whose artwork was as advanced as the European artists in the exhibition. Even though his more abstract, brightly colored style still received mixed reception, he managed to capture the attention of very important patrons, among them Lillie P. Bliss. Lillie Bliss is an unsung heroine to the world of Modern Art as we know it today. Her contributions while many, were probably the least well known to the public art community, and therefore are very worthy of notice to art collectors, dealers, and early 20th century/Victorian era art historians... Lillie Bliss was born in 1864. She was an American art collector and patron whose passion for art and new ideas combined with her love for collecting art paved the way for Modern Art. Lillie was born into a wealthy Boston family, whose original interest in the arts began with music. She actually helped found the Julliard Music Foundation. Later, the Bliss family began to cross over to the visual arts, probably in connection with her father's membership and presidency of the Union League Club (where in 1891, 34 works by Claude Monet were shown.) Lillie Bliss was also friends with Christian Archibald Herter (son of Christian Herter of Herter Bros., the successful interior decorating firm, which greatly influenced American Art and Design during the period following the Civil War.) Her connection with the Herter family resulted in her meeting Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. In March 1911, Abby Rockefeller was one of seven women who signed a certificate of incorporation for the Women's Cosmopolitan Club in New York, and in 1911-1912, Lillie Bliss was listed as a member. In 1929, Abby and Lillie would be listed among the founders of The Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Lillie was the leading collector among the founders, and served as Vice President of the museum. Lillie's earliest known purchases were most likely from Frederick Keppel, a well established art dealer who was connected to Joseph Pennell and James McNeil Whistler, whose art gallery was only blocks away from the Bliss family homestead. Lillie was also a friend of Arthur B. Davies, who also enlivened her interest in modern art. In 1913, at the Armory Show, which Davies organized, she purchased pictures from Renoir, Degas, and Redon, and her art collection continued to grow. Her ultimate collection of artwork, was gifted to The Museum of Modern Art after her death in 1931. The collection included eleven oils and eleven watercolors, which included works by Ce'zanne, Derain, Gauguin, Modigliani, Picasso, Rousseau, and other major figures. Her gift provided the foundation of permanent collection which was recognized publicly in art editorials shortly after Lillie's death, which established change for the way Museums transitioned from just places to showcase art, to permanent places for great artwork to be displayed and acquired. Lillie's generosity reflected by the provisions of her will, allowed certain paintings to be exchanged or sold as needed, to further strengthen and beautify the museum's collections. Many additional superior works were procured by The Museum of Modern Art in this way. Cottone Auctions is proud to include Prendergast's painting "In The Park", from the Lillie Bliss private collection, in their art sale. Art dealers and collectors won't want to miss out on this exceptional piece of modern art history.