Childe Hassam

About Childe Hassam

One of the most celebrated and well-known of the American impressionists, Hassam created works documenting his wide travels and his inclination toward the picturesque and agreeable aspects of the world around him. He worked as an illustrator early in his career, and the sharp eye he developed in that occupation encouraged him to seek out the pictorial possibilities wherever he went, from the streets of Paris to the shipyards of New England to the deserts of eastern Oregon.

One of the most celebrated and well-known of the American impressionists, Hassam created works documenting his wide travels and his inclination toward the picturesque and agreeable aspects of the world around him. He worked as an illustrator early in his career, and the sharp eye he developed in that occupation encouraged him to seek out the pictorial possibilities wherever he went, from the streets of Paris to the shipyards of New England to the deserts of eastern Oregon. His series of flag paintings, which depict the parades proceeding up New York's Fifth Avenue during World War I, are some of the most iconic images in American art. Hassam combined his intense interest in the effects of light as well as the animated brushwork and vivid color (after the mid-1880s) that typify impressionist painting with a more substantial use of forms and volumes to arrive at his signature style. His works flicker with color and light, but retain a sense of solidity and recognizable space. Whether executed in watercolor, oil or pastel, Hassam's lively landscape scenes capture the scenic appeal of places including Appledore, Cos Cob, Old Lyme, and East Hampton, (where he spent summers); the streets of New York and Paris; and the countryside of Normandy and Brittany. A founding member of the Ten American Painters, Hassam also painted nudes and figural works, including a series of window compositions that combined still-life elements and female figures in interiors silhouetted against views of the New York skyline. The artist's great ingenuity led him to take up etching at age 55, where he concentrated particularly on architectural subjects.

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