cover image The Remembered Image: Prendergast Watercolors 1986-1906

The Remembered Image: Prendergast Watercolors 1986-1906

Kerr Gallery Coe, Coe K. Gallery. Universe Publishing(NY), $12.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-87663-509-4

Appearing in connection with an exhibition at the Coe Kerr Gallery in New York City, this volume reproduces 40 watercolors done by Maurice Prendergast between 1896 and 1906, a time when he traveled widely in France and Italy and sought to absorb new styles and ways of seeing the world. Influenced by Seurat and Gauguin, the artist preferred to portray seasides and outdoor urban areas, where, as Seldin notes in her illuminating essay, he found ""color, pattern, balance, and movement''those elements of art he considered of paramount importance. The works here are bright and vivid and show an interest in architecture, crowds, water and flora. Scenes range from the Lagoon at Venice filled with lazy sailboats to a shimmering watercolor of a fountain in the Public Garden of Prendergast's native Boston. A beautiful, varied collection. (June)