Childe Hassam

1859 – 1935

American painter and printmaker who studied in Boston and Paris before settling in New York City. He was initially trained as an apprentice to a wood-engraver. From the late 1870s to the mid-1880s he executed drawings for the illustration of books, particularly children's stories. From 1898 to 1918 he exhibited together with a group of New York and Boston painters known as The Ten, who became the foremost proponents of U.S. Impressionism. Urban life was his favourite subject, but his landscapes of New England and rural New York also became popular. Paintings such as Washington Arch, Spring (1890) are characterized by clear, luminous atmosphere and brilliant colour. He also produced some 400 etchings and lithographs. With their flickering light and airy palette, Hassam's sprightly landscapes, cityscapes, and interiors show the strong influence of late 19th-century French painting, and he is probably the best known of America's impressionists. Examples of his work include many scenes on the Isles of Shoals and July 14th, Rue Daunou, 1910 (1910), The New York Window (1912), The Church at Gloucester (1918), and Fifth Avenue (1919). He also illustrated Celia Thaxter's An Island Garden (1894). An extremely prolific and popular artist, he is represented in virtually every major American museum.

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