Central Park

1939

Tempera, gold, and silver leaf on incised, on gessoed panel

55.9 × 71.1 cm (22 × 28 in)

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● On view now — Collection Gallery, Room 09, West Wall

Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia · verified July 2026

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FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

In Central Park , adults and children ride horses, watch miniature sailboats, and climb gray-and-gold striped rocks on a spring day in the 1930s. Blossoming cherry trees and high-rises with waving flags define the cityscape. The style and technique of Charles Prendergast's gilded, gessoed panel refers principally to medieval sacred painting in Italy and Byzantium, a result of the artist's earlier involvement in the Arts and Crafts movement. Indeed most of Charles's paintings at the Barnes Foundation belong to his early "celestial" period; but Central Park represents his latest "modern" phase (from 1932), dedicated to spectacles of entertainment in contemporary America.

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