California 1919

Childe Hassam made this painting of California with oil on canvas. Look at the way the brushstrokes create a mosaic of texture and color. I imagine Hassam squinting, trying to capture the shimmering light on the water, the ruggedness of the landscape. The surface is alive with detail, built up, dab by dab, with an almost scientific precision, like Seurat. There’s a real commitment to close observation, but it’s also filtered through this wonderfully romantic sensibility. I can imagine him working outdoors, battling the elements, trying to pin down the fleeting beauty of a particular moment. The painting suggests the influence of Impressionism, but also something more personal and idiosyncratic. I feel that all artists are in constant dialogue, absorbing, reacting, and pushing back against what’s come before, and I wonder who Hassam was looking at when he made this? It’s like we can see him working, trying to figure something out, one brushstroke at a time.