Prendergast, Maurice Brazil (1859-1924)

US painter. He created a decorative style in watercolours and in oils, using small translucent pools of colour. His work was inspired by Impressionism and post-Impressionism. Umbrellas in the Rain, Venice 1899 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) is typical.

His early youth was spent in Boston but he went to Paris 1886, studying at the Académie Julian. He was influenced by les Nabis, notably Pierre Bonnard and Edouard Vuillard. He also worked in Italy for some time before settling in New York. In his use of colour he advanced towards the post-Impressionist standpoint, and he is of note among the pioneer observers of city life.