In the Good Old Summertime
In the Northern Hemisphere, summer begins today with the summer solstice.Maurice Prendergast translates the lazy, hazy days of summer to the painted canvas in Summer, New England. This idyllic depiction of women and children strolling in a park-like setting evokes a mood of well-being and contentment, together with a certain detachment from reality. This is furthered by the exaggerated anonymity of the figures and the absence of a feeling of place. Anywhere and nowhere, the scene conveys a general, not a specific, sense of leisure and enjoyment.
Source: William Kloss. Treasures from the National Museum of American Art (Washington, D.C. and London: National Museum of American Art with the Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985).
Pictured: Maurice Prendergast, 1858 Canada–1924 USA, Summer, New England, 1912, oil, 19 1/4 x 27 1/2 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Charles Prendergast.
In the Northern Hemisphere, summer begins today with the summer solstice.Maurice Prendergast translates the lazy, hazy days of summer to the painted canvas in Summer, New England. This idyllic depiction of women and children strolling in a park-like setting evokes a mood of well-being and contentment, together with a certain detachment from reality. This is furthered by the exaggerated anonymity of the figures and the absence of a feeling of place. Anywhere and nowhere, the scene conveys a general, not a specific, sense of leisure and enjoyment.