Charles Prendergast (1863-1948)
Sunset, ca. 1914-1916
Tempera and gold leaf on incised, gessoed panel
Williams College Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Charles Prendergast, 86.18.25
Charles Prendergast (1863-1948), Attributed
Frame, 19th-20th Century
Gilding and wood
Williams College Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Charles Prendergast
Sunset reveals the influence of Persian and Egyptian art that the brothers would have seen in Boston’s Museum of Fine Art as well as books in their personal libraries. This work conveys an idyllic scene in which man, beast, and flora dwell together comfortably under the great life source–the sun. Although improved in execution and composition compared to Charles’s first panel Rising Sun, Sunset is clearly related to this earlier work: both paintings evoke a sense of ancient innocence and represent mirror images of each other.