Fifth Avenue by Frederick Childe Hassam - 1919 - 61.3 x 51.5 cm Cleveland Museum of Art Fifth Avenue by Frederick Childe Hassam - 1919 - 61.3 x 51.5 cm Cleveland Museum of Art

Fifth Avenue

Oil on canvas • 61.3 x 51.5 cm
  • Frederick Childe Hassam - October 17, 1859 - August 27, 1935 Frederick Childe Hassam 1919

Are you done with your pre-Christmas frenzy? We are not! Worry not, though, probably most of the world is not!  :)

Frederick Childe Hassam was an American Impressionist painter noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressionism to American collectors, dealers, and museums.

As we can see today, the artist was captivated by the vibrant energy of Fifth Avenue, Manhattan’s bustling thoroughfare, which was emerging as a popular shopping district around the time he painted this scene. His composition uses dabs of color and blurred shapes to capture the play of reflected light and the sense of rapid movement. The swift pace of modern life is conveyed through the busy street filled with flowing traffic, including two green double-decker buses in the lower-right corner.

Have a calm day today! :)

P.S. Childe Hassam themes varied from city scenes and coastal landscapes to domestic scenes and still lifes. Discover the art of the American Impressionist