North Beach Swimming Pool 1916

William James Glackens made "North Beach Swimming Pool" with oil on canvas. The brushwork is feathery and light, with a palette of soft yellows, greens, and reds. The whole thing has a kind of turn-of-the-century glow, a hazy summer day. I imagine Glackens standing there, squinting in the sunlight, trying to capture the scene before him. The way he's dabbed the paint on, it feels like he's not just recording what he sees, but also how it feels to be there, the heat, the buzz of conversation, the light glinting off the water. Look at those red strokes pulling you in from the bottom left. I can almost feel him making each stroke, shifting and adjusting, responding to the painting as it emerges. It reminds me a bit of Renoir, but with a more American, slightly grittier feel. It's like he's saying, "Here's a moment, a place, a feeling." And it's up to us to bring our own experiences and associations to it. It's an open conversation, a shared space of looking and feeling.