Childe Hassam (American, 1859-1935). World's Fair, Chicago. Gouache on paper laid on board. 11 x 14 inches (27.9 x 35.6 ...

Description

Childe Hassam (American, 1859-1935)
World's Fair, Chicago
Gouache on paper laid on board
11 x 14 inches (27.9 x 35.6 cm) (sheet)
Signed lower right: Childe Hassam

Property from the Collection of Santander Bank

PROVENANCE:
Edwin S. Barrie, New York;
Christie's, New York, December 4, 1992, lot 80.

The present gouache by Childe Hassam depicts the World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair), held in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival to the Americas in 1492. Chicago had won the bid to host the fair over several other cities, including New York City, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis. The exposition was an influential social and cultural event and had a profound effect on American architecture, the arts, American industrial optimism, and Chicago's image.

A rising star in the art world, Childe Hassam was among the American artists whose works were selected for exhibition in the Palace of Fine Arts at the Fair. The Exposition provided the impetus for the artist's first visit to the city. Barbara Weinberg writes, "Hassam's 1892 visit to Chicago in connection with the World's Columbian Exposition provoked some distinctive images. In order to supplement his income, Hassam undertook two commercial assignments associated with the fair... He added backgrounds and figures to a group of existing architectural drawings by other artists, which were then reproduced as a series of chromolithographs entitled Gems of the White City; made original views of the Exposition buildings in watercolor and gouache; and painted a few other watercolors and oils on Chicago themes." ("Hassam's Travels, 1892-1914," Childe Hassam: American Impressionist, 2004, p. 179) Hassam exhibited five oils and five watercolors at the Exposition, earning him medals in both media. The fair, which was attended by 27 million people (at a time when the United States population was approximately 50 million), provided unprecedented exposure for Hassam's work.

This work will be included in Stuart P. Feld and Kathleen M. Burnside's forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work.


More information about Childe Hassam. See also: Hassam, Childe, Hassam, Frederick Childe, Hassam, Frederick Childs Artist.

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