A pioneer of American Impressionism and perhaps its most successful practitioner was Childe Hassam. A born and bred New Englander, he is best known for his picturesque East Coast scenes. In the present work, however, the artist offers a rare view of the California vineyards. Hassam first traveled to California for the Panama Pacific International Exposition in 1914 - the same year this painting was composed. It is one of only about a dozen known works inspired by his visit ever painted by the artist. Another is currently in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
With an impressionistic eye, Hassam captures here the nuances of color and light on the rolling California hills with an array of hues - greens, blues, yellows and reds all form the expanse. The cool toned tranquility of the landscape is echoed in Hassam's exquisitely rendered sky. On the right side of the canvas, the artist depicts a tiny hillside vineyard, differentiated from the rest of the canvas with pronounced impasto. He weaves together different textures and tones in a single, bold brushstroke, creating a scene that is cohesive, yet ethereal. The artist's skillful attention to the subtleties of light and color, rendered with his famed staccato brushwork, make this work a true technical feat.
A pioneer of American Impressionism, Hassam’s distinctly American subjects are both nostalgic and vibrant, and today are considered among the best of turn-of-the-century American art. Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Hassam began his artistic career as a freelance illustrator, working for nation-wide publications such as Harper’s Weekly, Scribner’s Monthly, and The Century. His first solo exhibition of watercolors took place in Boston in 1883, and he quickly catapulted onto the international scene, winning a bronze medal at the Exposition Universale in Paris in 1889.
Hassam would receive numerous other awards over the course of his career, most notably the Gold Medal for Distinguished Services to Fine Art from the American Dealers Association. A true master, Hassam depicted a way of life characteristic of both American and French society, and his work represents an important chapter in American art history.
