Skip to main contentProvenanceThe Artist
Mrs. Elizabeth Page Simpson and William S. Simpson
Museum of Art, Science & Industry, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Kraushaar Galleries, New York, New York (dealer)
Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois, 2012
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Charles Prendergast
(American, 1863–1948)
Grenoble
1927
Watercolor and crayon on paper
Sheet: 7 1/4 x 9 3/4 in. (18.4 x 24.8 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Gift of Kraushaar Galleries, New York
Object number2012.1
InterpretationKnown for his intricately carved and gessoed frames, panels, and decorated wooden objects, Charles Prendergast, the younger brother of artist Maurice Brazil Prendergast, shared his brother’s artistic sensibilities and love of color. As artistic colleagues and partners, Maurice and Charles Prendergast traveled extensively, drawing inspiration from the natural world, contemporary life, and mythology. His brother’s artistic partner for decades, Charles Prendergast married in 1925 only after the death of Maurice the year before. He and his new wife Eugénie Van Kemmel traveled to Europe in 1927, where they toured the continent and lived in France for two years. It was during this extended stay that Prendergast, then 64 years old, executed Grenoble.
A diminutive watercolor, Grenoble is a delicately rendered street scene depicting storefronts and buildings in the eponymous Grenoble, a bustling city located in the foothills of the French Alps. Its splashes of bright colors and fluid lines imply Prendergast’s loose handling, while the arboreal motifs suit his depiction of a leafy city nestled into a European mountain range, resonating with his lifelong engagement with the naturalistic themes of the Arts and Crafts movement.
While Grenoble is not atypical of Prendergast’s work, it, along with the vast majority of his known watercolors, dates to the period following Maurice’s death in 1924. This concentration of watercolor works late in his life suggests that Charles turned to his beloved brother’s medium in the wake of the latter’s death. Whether memorial, homage, or simply coincidence, Grenoble and the other gem-like watercolors that Charles produced during this period reveal that the relationship between Maurice and Charles was one of artistic exchange as well as brotherhood.
A diminutive watercolor, Grenoble is a delicately rendered street scene depicting storefronts and buildings in the eponymous Grenoble, a bustling city located in the foothills of the French Alps. Its splashes of bright colors and fluid lines imply Prendergast’s loose handling, while the arboreal motifs suit his depiction of a leafy city nestled into a European mountain range, resonating with his lifelong engagement with the naturalistic themes of the Arts and Crafts movement.
While Grenoble is not atypical of Prendergast’s work, it, along with the vast majority of his known watercolors, dates to the period following Maurice’s death in 1924. This concentration of watercolor works late in his life suggests that Charles turned to his beloved brother’s medium in the wake of the latter’s death. Whether memorial, homage, or simply coincidence, Grenoble and the other gem-like watercolors that Charles produced during this period reveal that the relationship between Maurice and Charles was one of artistic exchange as well as brotherhood.
Mrs. Elizabeth Page Simpson and William S. Simpson
Museum of Art, Science & Industry, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Kraushaar Galleries, New York, New York (dealer)
Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois, 2012
Exhibition History
Charles Prendergast: Watercolors, Carvings, Panels, Davis Galleries, New York, New York, October–November 1962, no. 2.
American Landscapes, David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. Venue: David C. Driskell Center, September 9–November 19, 2021. [exh. cat.]
American Landscapes, David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. Venue: David C. Driskell Center, September 9–November 19, 2021. [exh. cat.]
The David C. Driskell Center. American Landscapes. (exh. cat, The David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park). College Park, MD: The David C. Driskell Center, 2021. Ill. p. 85 (color).