Childe Hassam
American, 1859 - 1935The Spar Shop, 1918
Not on view
Lithograph on paper
Dimensions11 7/8 × 18 in. (30.2 × 45.7 cm)
Image: 7 3/4 × 12 in. (19.7 × 30.5 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Childe Hassam, 1940.18
Childe Hassam’s work on paper form a considerable portion of his total artistic production. In addition to painting, Hassam devoted himself to drawing in several different media, including pencil, charcoal and pastel. In 1915 at the age of 56, Hassam turned to etching, embracing the medium enthusiastically. He was summering in Cos Cob, Connecticut, and used Kerr Eby’s printing press. Two years later he also took up lithography. Altogether, Hassam’s prints span a twenty-year period, during which he mastered several techniques that enabled him to present his subjects in a variety of moods. One example, The Spar Shop, depicts a worker with his back to us as he slowly moves a large piece of lumber forward. The hazy atmosphere shows dust from the lumber being cut within the shop.
Hassam was one of the foremost American Impressionists, was a versatile and prolific artist. He excelled in several mediums -- oil, watercolor, pastel -- and was a printmaker. Of his varied subject matter, he is especially noted for New England land and seascapes as well as urban scenes of Boston and New York. He was also a key figure in The Ten, a group of avant-garde Realist artists who exhibited together regularly from 1898 until they disbanded in 1919.
