Childe Hassam American, 1859-1935
91.4 x 66 cm
Further images
This series remains Hassam’s most sought-after subject and stands among the defining achievements of American Impressionism. As art historian William H. Gerdts observes, Hassam had long been identified with an essential “Americanness,” but in these paintings “he was able to give the modern cityscape patriotic and spiritual resonance. This pictorial sequence constitutes one of the greatest achievements of American art.” [1] Avenue of the Allies embodies this synthesis of national identity, democratic ideals, and modern urban spectacle.
On November 15, 1918—just days after the Armistice—a major group of the flag paintings, including the present work, was exhibited at the New York gallery of the French dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, and later at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1922. Although Hassam initially hoped to sell the series intact, the works were ultimately dispersed. Many now reside in distinguished museum and private collections, among them the New-York Historical Society; the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth; the White House; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
[1] William H. Gerdts, “For God and Country,” Childe Hassam: Impressionist, New York: Abbeville Press, 1999, p. 222
Provenance
The artist; by bequest to
American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, 1935; to
Dr. H. A. Blutman, New York, 1960;
Private collection, by 1988
[Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania]; to
Private collection, 2008 until the present
Exhibitions
Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, Paintings of the “Avenue of the Allies” by Childe Hassam, November 15-December 17, 1918, no. 3Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, New York Street Scenes and Flag Pictures with Others, February 15-April 1, 1919, no. 13
Milch Galleries, New York, Exhibition of Flag Paintings, May-June 1919, no. 9
Church of the Ascension, New York, Patriotic Street Paintings, October 27-November 27, 1919, no. 9
(Possibly) College of the City of New York, Flag Paintings Shown at the College of the City of New York, 1919-January 1920
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Exhibition of Flag Paintings, November 1922, no. 19
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas; New-York Historical Society, The Flag Paintings of Childe Hassam, May 9, 1988-June 25, 1989
Adelson Galleries, New York; Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Childe Hassam: An American Impressionist, November 2, 1999-February 5, 2000, as Avenue of the Allies (only exhibited in New York)
Literature
Ilene Susan Forte, The Flag Paintings of Childe Hassam, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988, p. 73, no. 21, illus. p. 72Warren Adelson et al., Childe Hassam, Impressionist, New York: Abbeville Press, 1999, p. 218, illus. p. 118, fig. 130
