Born on October 17, 1859, at Boston, Massachusetts, Fredrick Childe Hassam or Childe Hassam was a renowned American Impressionist painter, famous especially for the urban and coastal scenes he captured. Paintings, watercolors, etchings, and lithographs, the artist worked through all these mediums. His father Frederick was a cutlery merchant, while his mother Rosa was a homemaker. Childe showed interest in art since his early childhood. His flair emerged at Mather Public School in the form of drawing and painting, which his parents nearly ignored. In 1872, a huge fire swallowed Frederick's business. To help him out, Hassam dropped out of school and took up an accounting job with the publisher Little Brown & Company. However, his low inclination in the job led Frederick to find something for him in art. Hassam soon started working with a wood engraver George Johnson. He proved his mettle by producing competent designs and images for letterheads and newspapers.
In 1879, Hassam started producing oil paintings, while watercolors stayed as his preferred medium. He would mostly capture outdoor scenes. In 1882, Hassam took up freelance illustration as his career and established his first studio. He specialized in illustrating children's stories for various high profile magazines, such as Harper's Weekly, Scribner's Monthly, and The Century. All this while, the artist continued his drawing training at the Lowell Institute, a division of MIT, Boston and painting classes at the Boston Art Club. In 1882, Hassam held his first solo exhibition of watercolors at the Williams and Everett Gallery, Boston. In 1883, he along with his American Illustrator friend Edmund H. Garrett (1853-1929), travelled through Europe to study their art style. He created some 64 watercolor works, which he exhibited in 1884. When back to Boston, he married Kathleen Doan.
Childe Hassam ventured into cityscapes from mid-1880s. 'A Black Road' (1884) and 'Boston Common at Twilight' (1885) are some of his famous initial works in the field. As his oil works improved, the artist decided to quit illustration. Before that, the Hassam couple settled down in Paris. The artist joined Academie Julian to study figurative art. Soon, he reverted to self-study. In the autumn of 1887, Hassam painted two versions of 'Grand Prix Day,' employing a breakthrough change of palette. Inspired from French Impressionism, his colors were soft and diffuse, flooding the scenes with light. Free brush strokes added further finesse to the effect.
In 1889, the Hassam couple settled down in the New York City, the art capital of the U.S., to associate with artists, dealers, and collectors. They took a studio apartment at Fifth Avenue and Seventeenth. One of his first New York oils 'Fifth Avenue in Winter' is dedicated to the view from this studio. Childe played an important role in the evolution of American Impressionism. In 1897, Hassam participated in the secession of Impressionists from the Society of American Artists. He even formed a new American society, The Ten, in the same year. In 1906, he was elected Academician of the National Academy of Design, New York. In 1910, Hassam painted his exceptional piece 'July Fourteen.' In 1913, Hassam displayed his six paintings at the Armory Show. The same year, he displayed his 38 works at the Panama-Pacific Exhibition. His most famous paintings are the 'Flag' series, dedicated to & made during the World War I (1914-18). Childe Hassam died in East Hampton in 1935 at age 75.
Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. Please visit the website at http://www.Labedzki-Art.com. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited.
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