Poppies, Isles of Shoals
1891
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 50.2 x 61 cm (19 3/4 x 24 in.) framed: 73.5 x 83.8 x 6.7 cm (28 15/16 x 33 x 2 5/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CAB
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Margaret and Raymond Horowitz
Accession Number
1997.135.1
Art Historical Context
Childe Hassam, of the foremost American Impressionists, created *Poppies, Isles of Shoals* during the summer of 1891 visiting the remote islands off the coast of New Hampshire. The work reflects the artist’s deep connection to this rugged coastal landscape, where he often spent time painting en plein air. Hassam’s vibrant depiction of wild poppies blooming against the sea captures the fleeting effects of sunlight and color that defined the Impressionist movement in America. Painted in oil on canvas, the medium allowed Hassam to apply rich, luminous layers that convey both the delicate texture...
About the Artist
Childe Hassam · 1859–1935
Frederick Childe Hassam, born on October 17, 1859, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, to a family of New England descent with ties to Nathaniel Hawthorne through his mother, Rosa Delia Hawthorne, displayed an early aptitude for art. After his father's cutlery business was ruined by the Great Boston Fire of 1872, Hassam apprenticed as a wood engraver under George E. Johnson while taking drawing and wate...