Flagstone Sidewalk, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 1916

Childe Hassam made this slice of life with watercolor and pencil. Look at these energetic strokes that capture a moment in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, maybe a hot summer day! I can imagine Hassam standing here, squinting, quickly trying to trap the light. See how the flagstones shimmer, each one a slightly different shade? There’s a rhythmic back and forth between the cool grays of the stone and the lush greens overhead. I love the sketchy quality of the white wall, how the pencil marks peek through the wash of color. It gives the whole scene a sense of immediacy. Hassam, like other impressionists, was obsessed with the ephemeral, with capturing fleeting moments of light and atmosphere. This piece feels like a cousin to the work of Berthe Morisot, maybe. You know, those artists who were trying to pin down something slippery, something real about seeing. Painting is a way of thinking, right? And this painting offers a way of thinking about being present, observing, and trying to catch hold of a bit of time as it rushes by.