California series by Childe Hassam

The California series by Childe Hassam is a series of approximately 28 works based on American Impressionist Childe Hassam's visits to Northern California at least three times, in 1904, 1908, and 1914, and Southern California at least once in 1927. The works between 1904 and 1914 feature images from the San Francisco Bay Area, while the 1927–28 works feature images from Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara.Weinberg, H. Barbara; Barker, Elizabeth E. (2004). Childe Hassam, American impressionist. Metropolitan Museum of Art; Yale University Press. pp. 196–197, 201, 369–372, 373–403. . . Out of his approximately 4000 works, Hassam's focus on California is relatively small, with only 12 major California paintings completed between 1914 and 1919. Additional minor works in the series include approximately 16 or so etchings from 1916 to 1928. Most of the works made in 1928 were based on drawings from 1927.Eliasoph, Paula (1933). Handbook of Etchings by Childe Hassam, N.A., 1883–1933. New York: Leonard Clayton Gallery. pp. 28, 58–61. . 11 of the 12 California paintings were created in 1914 and first exhibited as part of the "California Group" of 106 paintings total in the Exhibition of Pictures by Childe Hassam at the Montross Gallery in New York in 1915.Gerdts, William H.; South, Will (1998). California Impressionism. United Kingdom: Abbeville Press Publishers. pp. 53–57, 76, 189. . . A twelfth painting in the series, California, has been dated to 1919.Hassam, Childe (2017). California . Christie's. Retrieved November 6, 2024. The majority of Hassam's California etchings were first exhibited at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1927.American Academy of Arts and Letters. (1927). A Catalogue of an Exhibition of the Works of Childe Hassam. At the American Academy of Arts and Letters. New York City. April 21 – October 21, 1927. Academy Publication No. 58. .

Historically, Hassam's work as an Impressionist in San Francisco was somewhat unique. Even though the works of the French Impressionists were first popularized in California by San Francisco art galleries in the 1890s, and had their first major public exhibition at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) in 1915, just several years after New York's Armory Show,Boas, Nancy (1998). The Society of Six: California Colorists. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 58–68, 128. . . artists in Northern California remained strongly attached to the style of tonalism, not Impressionism. The vast majority of artists who took up the style of California Impressionism did so in Southern California, not the north, leading to that region serving as the nexus for the short-lived legacy of regional Impressionism in the early 20th century.Landauer, Susan (1996). California Impressionists. Irvine Museum; Georgia Museum of Art. pp. 11–12, 36–38, 46, 65, 91 . .

Several California artists found inspiration in Hassam's work and painted similar scenes in the Bay Area. In Northern California, members of the Society of Six in Oakland were greatly influenced by the PPIE in 1915, which revealed works by French Impressionists, American Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, and Futurists for the first time in California. Plein-air artists Maurice Logan (1886–1977) and Selden Connor Gile (1877–1947), both members of the Society of Six, later painted works featuring hills in the Bay Area that are reminiscent of Hassam's treatment of similar landforms. Art historian Will South compares Hassam to that of California Impressionist Guy Rose (1867–1925), finding that aside from their personality differences, they took similar career trajectories and even painted the same subjects in New York and California. Nevertheless, the wider art world has mostly ignored California Impressionists and other modernists. In 2002, South observed that large Impressionist exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and retrospectives of American modernism all ignored California-based artists.South, Will (2002). "The Participatory Nature of Early California Art" . In Solon, Deborah Epstein (Ed). In and Out of California: Travels of American Impressionists. Laguna Art Museum. pp. 11–38. . .

Selected works Year Image Title Type Dimensions Gallery Notes 1914 Madroñes HillExhibition of Pictures by Childe Hassam. Montross Gallery. New York: The Gallery. 1915. Oil on canvas Unknown Unknown First exhibited 1915 1914 The California Hills (The Little Vineyard) Oil on canvas 36.5 x 44.5 in Private collection Stolen 2019Luna, Marcy de (February 8, 2019). "Here are some of the millions of dollars of valuables stolen from Tony Buzbee's River Oaks mansion". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 9, 2024. 1914 Spring Morning in California Oil on canvas Unknown Unknown First exhibited 1915 1914 Telegraph Hill Oil on canvas 24 (61.3 cm) x 24 in (61.3 cm) White House CollectionKloss, William; Bolger, Doreen; Curry, David Park; Monkman, Betty; Wilmerding, John (1992). Art in the White House: A Nation's Pride. White House Historical Association. . . Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Dimick 1914 The Eucalyptus in Blossom Oil on canvas Unknown Unknown First exhibited 1915 1914 The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate Oil on canvas 30 in (76 cm) × 32 in (81 cm) Brauer Museum of Art Deaccessioning in processAdame, Jaime (March 14, 2023). "Strong Opposition to Art Sale at Valparaiso". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved November 9, 2024. 1914 California Hills, In Spring Oil on canvas 30 × 32 in American Academy of Arts and Letters Hassam bequest, 1936Hassam, Childe (1914). California Hills, In Spring. American Academy of Arts and Letters. Retrieved November 9, 2024. 1914 Hill of the Sun, San Anselmo, California Oil on canvas 31.5 in × 31.75 in Oakland Museum of California Gift of the Oakland Museum Women's Board in honor of George W. NeubertHassam, Childe (1914). Hill of the Sun, San Anselmo, California. Gallery of California Art. Oakland Museum of California. Retrieved November 9, 2024. 1914 Eucalyptus Trees–Spring (California Hills back of Tamalpais) Oil on canvas Unknown Norton Museum of Art Gift of Dr. S. Charles and Marcella Ungar Werblow 2016Norton Museum of Art. Twitter. March 14, 2021. 1914 San Anselmo Oil on canvas Unknown Unknown First exhibited 1915 1914 Point Lobos Oil on canvas 28.3 in (71.9 cm) × 36.1 in (91.9 cm) Los Angeles County Museum of Art Mr. and Mrs. William Preston Harrison Collection"Curator notes" . Point Lobos, Carmel. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Retrieved November 5, 2024. 1916 Old Chinatown, San FranciscoBroder, Janis (1984). The American West: The Modern Vision. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. pp. 20–1. . . Etching 5 in (13.18 cm) × 4 in (12.54 cm) National Gallery of Art Made from a 1904 drawing Gift of Mrs. Childe HassamHassam, Childe (1904). Old Chinatown, San Francisco, 1904 . National Gallery of Art. Retrieved November 10, 2024. 1919 California Oil on Canvas 24 (61 cm) × 43 in (109.2 cm)Private collection Sold at auction 2017 1927 Contours of Los Angeles Etching 6 × 10 in Unknown Stays at the Mayfair Hotel by March 2First exhibited in 1927 1927 Eucalyptus Trees, Coronado Etching 9 × 10 in Unknown Stays at the Hotel del Coronado by March 16 First exhibited in 1927 1927 Coronado Beach, California Etching 9 × 13 in Unknown First exhibited in 1927 1927 Point Loma, California Etching 9 × 13 in The San Diego Museum of Art Gift of Mrs. Childe HassamHassam, Childe (1927). Point Loma, California . The San Diego Museum of Art. 1940.37.m. Retrieved November 10, 2024. 1927 Edward Borein in Santa Barbara Etching 20.3 cm (8 in) × 15.2 cm (6 in) Santa Barbara Historical Museum Stays at El Mirasol Hotel by March 25First exhibited in 1927 Gift of Amy and Steve MacfarlaneSanta Barbara Historical Museum Annual Report 2021 . "Supporting the Museum". Santa Barbara Historical Museum. p. 17. Retrieved November 10, 2024. 1927 The Plaza de la Guerra Etching 6 × 9 Unknown First exhibited in 1927 1927 Corpus Christi from Point Loma Etching 1927 Coronado and Point Loma Etching Unknown 1927A California Oil Field Etching 8 × 13 Unknown First exhibited in 1927 1927 Point Loma (Version A) Etching Unknown 1927 Giants and Pygmies Etching 8 in (21.27 cm) × 11 in (27.94 cm) Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center Gift of Mrs. Childe HassamHassam, Childe (1927). Giants and Pygmies . Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. 1940.2.7. Retrieved November 10, 2024. 1928 Point Loma (Version B) Etching Unknown 1928 The Giant Etching Unknown From a 1927 drawing 1928 The Redwoods Etching Unknown From a 1927 drawing 1928 California Etching Unknown From a 1927 drawing

References

Further reading Hiesinger, Ulrich W. (1994). Childe Hassam: American Impressionist. Prestel-Verlag Publishing. . .