Frederick Childe Hassam
(1859-1935)

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Frederick Childe Hassam was an American artist born in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Mary Cassat and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was one of the first American painters to popularize Impressionism. Hassam painted a prolific number of paintings and prints in his career.

Hassam was interested in art at an early age and showed a great deal of talent among his childhood peers. When a Boston fire destroyed his father’s business in 1872, Hassam was forced to drop out of high school in order to help support the family. Hassam spent a short amount of time working as an accountant for the publishing company, Little Brown and Company. The job was a poor fit for Hassam, who longed to pursue a career as an artist. Hassam eventually found a more suitable job working for a wood engraver. Hassam was skilled at his new line of work and quickly excelled. Hassam was given more responsibility and started designing commercial engravings.

After experimenting with watercolor paints, Hassam started doing illustrations on a free-lance studio. Hassam eventually opened his own illustration studio and worked for major publications such as Harper’s weekly, The Century and Scribner’s Monthly. While gaining an income and reputation as an illustrator, Hassam enrolled in painting classes at the Boston Art Club and the Lowell Institute.

Hassam started exhibiting as a fine artist in 1882 and was represented by the Williams and Everett Gallery in Boston. Hassam stopped using his first name, Frederick and simply went by Childe Hassam. Hassam travelled to Europe to expose himself to the old masters and paint in rural areas. In Europe, Hassam painted a large body of watercolors, which he exhibited in 1884.

Hassam gravitated to Paris where we started making Impressionist pieces. Hassam painted many street scenes, which were exhibited in Paris Salons and the Universal Exhibition of 1889 in Paris.

When Hassam returned to the United States he opened a studio in New York City. Hassam exhibited frequently in New York and became apart of “The Ten”, an influential group of American Impressionists. Hassam painted a series of flag paintings, for which he is most known. Hassam’s work is know many prestigious American painting collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery in D.C. Do you think you own a painting by Childe Hassam? Contact us. We are the Childe Hassam experts.