Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Grace Nichols Strong and Charlotte Nichols Greene, Boston, Massachusetts, 1982
Private collection by descent
Sotheby's New York, New York, November 18, 1982, lot 301
Davis & Langdale Company, New York, New York, 1982
Daniel J. Terra Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1983
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1992
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Maurice Brazil Prendergast
(American, 1858–1924)
Telegraph Hill
c. 1895–97
Monotype
Plate: 14 x 14 1/4 in. (35.6 x 36.2 cm)
Sheet: 14 3/4 x 16 in. (37.5 x 40.6 cm)
Mat: 20 1/4 x 20 1/4 in. (51.4 x 51.4 cm)
Sheet: 14 3/4 x 16 in. (37.5 x 40.6 cm)
Mat: 20 1/4 x 20 1/4 in. (51.4 x 51.4 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1992.110
SignedIn plate, lower left: Prendergast
InterpretationGusting winds blow fully rigged sailboats gracefully across a broad expanse of water in Telegraph Hill (CR 1674) by Maurice Prendergast. An American flag and other brightly colored banners horizontally unfurl in the stiff breeze in contrast to the vertical flagpole that unites the tripartite background divided by blue, green, and beige bands. These same strong air currents lift the billowing skirts of the women and girls promenading on the sandy shore as they tightly clutch their umbrellas and balls. Vivid reds, yellows, greens, whites, and browns make this one of the artist's most vivid monotypes.
Movement is an underlying theme of so many of the artist's works of art and is the essence of the six monotypes in the "Telegraph Hill" suite. The Terra Foundation collection's three works from the suite include Telegraph Hill and Telegraph Hill I (TF1992.111, CR 1671), and an oil on panel, Telegraph Hill (TF 1999.119a, CR 23). Intriguingly, these three works are the same size (approximately 15 x 15 inches), with the two monotypes among his largest works in this medium and, surprisingly, the same dimensions as the oil painting. Scholars have questioned the role of the artist's monotype when a subject is explored in more than one medium, and in this case, it is obvious that these monotypes were not preparatory drawings for the oil panel. It is worth noting that one of the monotypes from the "Telegraph Hill" suite was the first work of art by Prendergast to enter a public collection, The Ships (Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, CR 1676).
Telegraph Hill, the most elevated point in South Boston, was known as Dorchester Heights when it played an important role in the evacuation of the city by British forces in 1776. By the 1850s, a residential neighborhood surrounded the park, which was famous for its views of the city and Old Harbor. To celebrate the 126th anniversary of the Revolutionary War in 1900, the Dorchester Monument, a marble observation tower, was dedicated and the park was renamed for General John Thomas, commander of Dorchester's Revolutionary troops.
Strangely, the two monotypes entitled Telegraph Hill in the Terra Foundation collection depict a shore scene rather than a panoramic hill top view of Old Harbor. Although Telegraph Hill I, an almost the identical version of Telegraph Hill only in reverse, is inscribed with this specific site, Prendergast chose to represent promenaders on a shore, perhaps Pleasure Bay as seen from Marine Park—it is directly east of Telegraph Hill as it slopes toward the bay, and vintage maps verify the topography of these sites. The one Telegraph Hill monotype that does reproduce the panoramic view from the hill top (Collection Ogden K. Shannon, Jr., CR 1673) verifies what the view from the top of the hill looks like. As with many of Prendergast's subjects, imagination plays a larger role than documentation. For more information, see Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonné (1990), to which the CR numbers for the monotypes noted above refer.
Movement is an underlying theme of so many of the artist's works of art and is the essence of the six monotypes in the "Telegraph Hill" suite. The Terra Foundation collection's three works from the suite include Telegraph Hill and Telegraph Hill I (TF1992.111, CR 1671), and an oil on panel, Telegraph Hill (TF 1999.119a, CR 23). Intriguingly, these three works are the same size (approximately 15 x 15 inches), with the two monotypes among his largest works in this medium and, surprisingly, the same dimensions as the oil painting. Scholars have questioned the role of the artist's monotype when a subject is explored in more than one medium, and in this case, it is obvious that these monotypes were not preparatory drawings for the oil panel. It is worth noting that one of the monotypes from the "Telegraph Hill" suite was the first work of art by Prendergast to enter a public collection, The Ships (Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, CR 1676).
Telegraph Hill, the most elevated point in South Boston, was known as Dorchester Heights when it played an important role in the evacuation of the city by British forces in 1776. By the 1850s, a residential neighborhood surrounded the park, which was famous for its views of the city and Old Harbor. To celebrate the 126th anniversary of the Revolutionary War in 1900, the Dorchester Monument, a marble observation tower, was dedicated and the park was renamed for General John Thomas, commander of Dorchester's Revolutionary troops.
Strangely, the two monotypes entitled Telegraph Hill in the Terra Foundation collection depict a shore scene rather than a panoramic hill top view of Old Harbor. Although Telegraph Hill I, an almost the identical version of Telegraph Hill only in reverse, is inscribed with this specific site, Prendergast chose to represent promenaders on a shore, perhaps Pleasure Bay as seen from Marine Park—it is directly east of Telegraph Hill as it slopes toward the bay, and vintage maps verify the topography of these sites. The one Telegraph Hill monotype that does reproduce the panoramic view from the hill top (Collection Ogden K. Shannon, Jr., CR 1673) verifies what the view from the top of the hill looks like. As with many of Prendergast's subjects, imagination plays a larger role than documentation. For more information, see Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonné (1990), to which the CR numbers for the monotypes noted above refer.
Grace Nichols Strong and Charlotte Nichols Greene, Boston, Massachusetts, 1982
Private collection by descent
Sotheby's New York, New York, November 18, 1982, lot 301
Davis & Langdale Company, New York, New York, 1982
Daniel J. Terra Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1983
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1992
Exhibition History
Monotypes by Maurice Prendergast from the Terra Museum of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venues: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., January 27–April 14, 1985; Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, April 27–June 30, 1985; Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, July 12–September 8, 1985; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts, September 20–November 17, 1985; Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan, November 24, 1985–January 19, 1986; Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, January 28–February 24, 1986; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York, May 13–June 15, 1986; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, June 23–August 24, 1986; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama, September 2–October 26, 1986; The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, November 2–30, 1986; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota, December 13, 1986–February 15, 1987; Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, Florida, June 21–July 31, 1987; Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio, August 8–September 27, 1987; Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, New York, October 4–November 5, 1987; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1987–January 7, 1988; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, January 20–March 22, 1988; Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 9–May 29, 1988. [exh. cat.]
The Work of Charles and Maurice Prendergast, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 16–April 21, 1991.
Singular Impressions: The Monotype in America, The National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (organizer). Venues: The National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., April 4–August 3, 1997; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 5-November 9, 1997; Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, January 15–March 31, 1998. [exh. cat.]
A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003 (on exhibit extended run: November 2, 2002–March 2, 2003).
The Work of Charles and Maurice Prendergast, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 16–April 21, 1991.
Singular Impressions: The Monotype in America, The National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (organizer). Venues: The National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., April 4–August 3, 1997; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 5-November 9, 1997; Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, January 15–March 31, 1998. [exh. cat.]
A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003 (on exhibit extended run: November 2, 2002–March 2, 2003).
Rhys, Hedley Howell. Maurice Prendergast: The Sources and Development of His Style. PhD dissertation, Harvard University, 1952. Text p. 193.
Glavin, Ellen S. N. D. and Eleanor Green. "Chronology." In Maurice Prendergast: Art of Impulse and Color. (exh. cat., University of Maryland Art Gallery). College Park, Maryland: University of Maryland, 1976. Text p. 42.
Sotheby's New York, New York (Sale 4964, November 18, 1982): lot 301. Ill. lot 301 (black & white), back cover (color).
Langdale, Cecily. Monotypes by Maurice Prendergast in the Terra Museum of American Art. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Museum of American Art, 1984. Text pp. 34, 35, 37, 108; ill. no. 31, p. 109 (color).
Clark, Carol, Nancy Mowll Mathews and Gwendolyn Owens. Maurice Brazil Prendergast; Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonné. Munich, Germany, and Williamstown, Massachusetts: Prestel-Verlag and The President and Trustees of Williams College, 1990. No. 1674, p. 605; ill. no. 1674, p. 605 (black & white).
Moser, Joann. Singular Impressions: The Monotype in America. (exh. cat., National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution). Washington, D.C.: Published for the National Museum of American Art by Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997. Fig. 41.
Glavin, Ellen S. N. D. and Eleanor Green. "Chronology." In Maurice Prendergast: Art of Impulse and Color. (exh. cat., University of Maryland Art Gallery). College Park, Maryland: University of Maryland, 1976. Text p. 42.
Sotheby's New York, New York (Sale 4964, November 18, 1982): lot 301. Ill. lot 301 (black & white), back cover (color).
Langdale, Cecily. Monotypes by Maurice Prendergast in the Terra Museum of American Art. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Museum of American Art, 1984. Text pp. 34, 35, 37, 108; ill. no. 31, p. 109 (color).
Clark, Carol, Nancy Mowll Mathews and Gwendolyn Owens. Maurice Brazil Prendergast; Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonné. Munich, Germany, and Williamstown, Massachusetts: Prestel-Verlag and The President and Trustees of Williams College, 1990. No. 1674, p. 605; ill. no. 1674, p. 605 (black & white).
Moser, Joann. Singular Impressions: The Monotype in America. (exh. cat., National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution). Washington, D.C.: Published for the National Museum of American Art by Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997. Fig. 41.