Salem Cove

c. 1915/1918

Maurice Prendergast

Associated Names
Maurice Prendergast
Painter, American, 1858 - 1924
This painting depicts a lively gathering of people in a vibrant outdoor setting. People wearing colorful clothing in shades of orange, teal, pink, white, and purple stroll across the green grass or sit on a blue bench in the bottom right corner. Tall trees with green leaves line the edge of the park, and beyond them small sailboats sit atop bright blue water. Dark gray rocks surround another grassy island or strip of land visible across the water on the right side, and more gray rocks are visible in the distance on the left. A small green kayak or canoe appears to navigate the water near the edge of the park. The painting was created using short, thick brushstrokes of bright colors inside of thin brown outlines, obscuring fine details and giving the appearance of a mosaic.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

In November 1914, Maurice Prendergast and his brother, Charles, left Boston and moved to New York. Prendergast was regarded as an important American modernist in his adopted city, and a major exhibition of his work at the Carroll Galleries in 1915 was an immense success. Prominent collectors such as John Quinn, Albert Barnes, and Ferdinand Howald vied for his work.

Salem Cove is a particularly fine example among the many shore scenes that the artist produced between 1914 and 1923, when his failing health forced him to cease working. During this late phase of his career, Prendergast summered in New England resort towns, such as Salem, Massachusetts. His standard working procedure was to paint watercolors on site and then translate them into fairly large exhibition oil paintings at his studio in New York. Salem Cove represents his favorite subject, people pursuing leisurely activities in the idyllic inlets, coves, and beaches of New England’s Atlantic coast. Prendergast’s bright palette and mosaic-like technique contribute to the festive, optimistic ambience of the scene.

On View
East Building, Ground Level, Gallery E106
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

  • Dimensions

    overall: 61.4 x 76.5 cm (24 3/16 x 30 1/8 in.)
    framed: 85.1 x 99.7 x 6.7 cm (33 1/2 x 39 1/4 x 2 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1985.64.33

More About this Artwork

This nearly square painting shows an industrial area with buildings, storage silos, a smokestack, and railroad tracks. A mound of brown dirt or other material is in shadow in the lower left corner of the painting. Next to the mound, railroad tracks extend diagonally from the lower center of the painting into the distance to our right. The tracks end at a white building with staggered gray rooflines to our right in the distance. A tall terracotta-red smokestack rises high beyond the white building, smoke pouring out of its top and blending into the clouds above. Just beyond the mound of dirt, piles of white material, perhaps in unseen bins, line the railroad track to our left and lead back to a row ten interconnected, coral-orange silos. The horizon comes about halfway up the painting, and it is lined with a row of long white and gray warehouses. The artist signed and dated the work with brown paint in the lower right corner: “Sheeler 31.”

Scholarly Series:  American Paintings, 1900–1945

Scholarly Article:  American Paintings, 1900–1945: Salem Cove, c. 1915/1918

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist [1858-1924]; gift 1924 to his brother, Charles Prendergast [1869-1948], Westport, Connecticut; by inheritance to his wife, Eugenie Prendergast, Westport, Connecticut; purchased June 1984 by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Upperville, Virginia; gift 1985 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1934

  • Possibly Maurice Prendergast Memorial Exhibition, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1934, no. 109.

1940

  • Selections: 1820-1920, Walker Galleries, New York, 1940, no. 6.

1986

  • Gifts to the Nation: Selected Acquisitions from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1986, unnumbered checklist.

1999

  • An Enduring Legacy: Masterpieces from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1999-2000, no cat.

Bibliography

1988

  • Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Rev. ed. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988: 164, no. 59, color repro.

1990

  • Clark, Carol, Nancy Mowll Mathews, and Gwendolyn Owens. Maurice Brazil Prendergast and Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonné. Williamstown, Massachusetts: Williams College Museum of Art, 1990, p. 310, no. 439.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 266, repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: Prendergast

Wikidata ID

Q20192028

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