Revere Beach No. 2

Maurice Prendergast ( between 1917 and 1918 )

Period Twentieth-Century
Materials Opaque and transparent watercolor over graphite pencil on paper

Object Number 1991.006.0002
Dimensions 13 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.; 34.29 x 49.53 cm.
Credit Line Gift of Mrs. Charles Prendergast in memory of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips, 1991

Revere Beach is five miles north of Boston. Its hard sand shore forms a great crescent for four miles along the blue ocean, sloping away gradually out to sea and creating an ideal bathing beach. The Nahant and Winthrop peninsulas frame the horizon at Revere Beach, which faces Massachusetts Bay. An ad in a 1912 booklet advertising Revere Beach described unsurpassed scenic panoramas viewed from the beach by day or night. From the time it opened to the public in 1896, Revere Beach entertained visitors from all over the world each year from Easter until Labor Day. In the early years they walked, bicycled or took horse-drawn carriages. It was the place to go to be entertained, have fun or just relax and enjoy a day at the beach.