Lady in Hat and Green Cape

Noticeable beneath her broad brimmed hat, the blond upswept hair of the solitary female figure in the monotype Lady in Hat and Green Cape (CR 1733) is unusual in Maurice Prendergast's "Solitary Woman" series.  The double tiers of the woman's green cape distinguish her outfit while the lack of feminine embellishments is noteworthy.  The movement of the white undergarment beneath her skirt draws the eye to this minor drama within the scene.  Standing at the curb lifting her skirts and preparing to step down, the woman's momentary hesitation brings attention to the implied action occurring before and after this scene.  The addition of facial features with graphite to the colored print contributes to the pensive mood of the monotype.

  Although similar to Prendergast's earlier monotypes that feature a single female figure dressed in a deep green walking outfit complete with a cape, Lady in Hat and Green Cape deviates from these earlier models, whose figures appear to float on a plain background.  Here, streaks of dark pigment enliven the brownish background, adding texture to the monotype's image.  While the artist has drawn a line border around the image, he did not include his initials in the plate.  Although it is possible that this monotype was exhibited as Girl in Green at a 1901 exhibition of watercolors and monotypes in Cincinnati, Ohio, Prendergast's use of descriptive titles makes it difficult to definitively identify monotypes on exhibition checklists.

Lady in Hat and Green Cape represents a version of the type from the "Solitary Woman" series in which the background is a drab monochromatic color.  Other types in the series employ a narrative setting or are unworked with the figure appearing to float on the surface.  Critically, the artist's earliest monotypes, identified by his brother Charles Prendergast, portray two types from the "Solitary Woman" series: Lady in a Pale Green Dress, Blue Hat and Scarf (Private Collection, CR 1563) has a drab overall colored background, while Esplanade (TF 1999.109, CR 1564) has a narrative scene.  It is useful to compare the monochromatic flatness of Lady in Hat and Green Cape to the spatial depth of Lady with a Muff (TF 1992.91, CR 1726), and to the floating figure in Lady with Handkerchief (TF 1992.90, CR 1571). For more information, see Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Charles Prendergast: A Catalogue Raisonné (1990), to which the CR numbers for the monotypes noted above refer.

The Monotypes of Maurice Prendergast: A Loan Exhibition, Davis & Long Company, New York, New York, April 4–28, 1979. [exh. cat.]

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.]

Regard sur Maurice Brazil Prendergast (Maurice Brazil Prendergast at a Glance), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 1993.

American Treasures: Chase, Whistler and the Prendergasts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 26, 1996–January 5, 1997.

Portrait of a Lady : peintures et photographies américaines en France, 1870–1915 (Portrait of a Lady: American Paintings and Photographs in France, 1870–1915), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France and Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (organizers). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France, April 1–July 14, 2008; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, September 25, 2008–January 5, 2009 (exhibited in Bordeaux). [exh. cat.]

Langdale, Cecily. The Monotypes of Maurice Prendergast. (exh. cat., Davis & Long Company). New York: Davis & Long Company, 1979. Ill. no. 84, p. 120 (black & white).

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. 27, 32, 132, 134; ill. no. 43, p. 133 (color).

"A Singular Type: A Portfolio of Monotypes by Maurice Prendergast." Eastern [Airlines] Review (February 1985): 51–54. Ill. p. 51.

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. 1733, pp. 623–24; ill. no. 1733, p. 623 (black & white).

Vanessa Lecomte, editor. Portrait of a Lady : peinture et photographies américains (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny and Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2008. Text (checklist) p. 95.