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The origin of Hassam's light palette and interest in the theme of women and flowers appears to have coincided with an extended stay in France beginning in 1886, a period during which he closely studied and adopted aspects of the Impressionist technique, approach and choice of subject matter that he molded to suit his own aesthetic objectives.
In the painting, Mrs. Hassam (Kathleen Maude Doane) is pictured poised in the act of trimming beautiful lilac blooms, some of which she is holding in her hand. Previously cut larger branches are visible on the ground near to where she is standing and next to her is a stool on which she may have stood to cut the higher branches. Mrs. Hassam looks lovely, sporting a crisp afternoon dress with her hair softly framing her delicate face. Behind Mrs. Hassam the sun sets in the distance peeking over the garden wall.
ProvenanceM. Rogers, Paris, France.
Wildenstein Galleries, New York.
Mr. Edward Speelman, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1965.
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, 1969.
Rhonie H. Berlinger, New York, 1970.
Estate of the above.
Christie’s, New York, December 2, 2004, lot 29, sold by the above.
Christie’s New York, 2023.
Artist
Childe Hassam
(American, 1859 - 1935)
Mrs. Hassam in the Garden
Date1896
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsSight: 23 3/4 × 19 3/8 in. (60.3 × 49.2 cm)
Object numberN0017.2023
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust.
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextBy 1896, Hassam had begun to attain maturity and success with his art, as was noted by a critic from The New York Times, “few of our native painters have succeeded in so many directions. Sea, landscape, architecture, flowers, still life, animals, and figures...He seems able to paint anything his fancy dictates. He can be as finished, as broad, as impressionist, as colorful as the best of them, and all at will.”The origin of Hassam's light palette and interest in the theme of women and flowers appears to have coincided with an extended stay in France beginning in 1886, a period during which he closely studied and adopted aspects of the Impressionist technique, approach and choice of subject matter that he molded to suit his own aesthetic objectives.
In the painting, Mrs. Hassam (Kathleen Maude Doane) is pictured poised in the act of trimming beautiful lilac blooms, some of which she is holding in her hand. Previously cut larger branches are visible on the ground near to where she is standing and next to her is a stool on which she may have stood to cut the higher branches. Mrs. Hassam looks lovely, sporting a crisp afternoon dress with her hair softly framing her delicate face. Behind Mrs. Hassam the sun sets in the distance peeking over the garden wall.
ProvenanceM. Rogers, Paris, France.
Wildenstein Galleries, New York.
Mr. Edward Speelman, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1965.
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, 1969.
Rhonie H. Berlinger, New York, 1970.
Estate of the above.
Christie’s, New York, December 2, 2004, lot 29, sold by the above.
Christie’s New York, 2023.
On View
On viewc. 1825-1835
