Movement, Style, School or Type of Art:
Impressionism, Illustration
Date and Place of Birth:
October 17, 1859, Dorchester, Massachusetts
Born of impeccable Bostonian lineage, his given name was Frederick Childe Hassam. After signing early works "Fred C. Hassam," he dropped "Fred C." and began using " F. Childe" at the urging of artist-friend Celia Thaxter, who felt his middle name both more memorable and marketable. As of 1883, all derivatives of "Frederick" disappeared, and it was strictly "Childe Hassam" from there on out.
Life:
Hassam, who had shown an early promise for art, escaped the life of an accountant after mere weeks at that career. He trained as a draftsman in wood engraving, but quickly moved to watercolors and subsequent work in illustration. His studies in Paris at the Académie Julian left minimal impact on his art, as he was far more interested in that which the Impressionists were at. Though he didn't consider himself an Impressionist, he is best known for a similar use of color, light and brushwork.
Important Works:
- Summer Evening, 1886
- Winter in Union Square, 1889–90
- Celia Thaxter's Garden, Isles of Shoals, Maine, 1890
- Allies Day, May 1917, 1917
Date and Place of Death:
August 27, 1935, East Hampton, New York
Recommended Books About Childe Hassam:
- Weinberg, H. Barbara; Brown, Elizabeth; Barker, Elizabeth E. Childe Hassam: American Impressionist. Yale University Press, 2004.
- Adelson, Warren; Cantor, Jay E.; Gerdts, William H. Childe Hassam: Impressionist. Abbeville Press, 1999.
- Hiesinger, Ulrich. Childe Hassam: American Impressionist. Prestel, 1999.
- Cortissoz, Royal; Leonard Clayton Gallery. Catalogue of the Etchings and Dry-Points of Childe Hassam, N.A.. Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1989.
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