Numph Bathing 1904

Childe Hassam made Nymph Bathing with oil on canvas, building up those short, flickering strokes into a shimmering surface. I bet he was having a ball making this one – just totally lost in the dance of color and light. I can imagine him stepping back, squinting, then diving back in with another dab of paint. The way he builds up the leaves, those sunny yellows against the cooler blues of the water, it’s almost like he’s weaving a tapestry of pure sensation. Check out how the light catches on her back. That’s the kind of thing you can only get through observation, and a willingness to just let the paint do its thing. Hassam was part of a whole generation of painters obsessed with capturing those fleeting moments of light and atmosphere – think Monet, but with a distinctly American sensibility. And he’s showing us how to look and feel our way through the world. Painting is so exciting, don’t you think? It’s a big conversation between artists, and each one adds their own little bit to the story.