THE ARTIST: Frederick Childe Hassam (1859- 1935) American Impressionist Painter Hassam studied in Europe for a time, but returned to New York to paint scenes of the life he saw on the streets and in homes. Hassam is famous for his series of 22 flag paintings. He began these before World War I started. The event that inspired him to paint flags was a "Preparedness Parade" held on Fifth Avenue in New York. Hassam’s flag paintings all take place on Fifth Avenue or Fifty-Seventh Street, near his gallery. In the painting, Allies Day, May 1917 we see the American flag and flags of those nations America would fight alongside, Great Britain and France. MAKE AN OBSERVATION DRAWING! When the world seems cluttered with too much information, you can block out the uninteresting information and find a view that is balanced. Look through a viewfinder to border what you see and locate a good composition. Measure, draw and cut a two-inch border within a sheet of black construction paper. Hold the viewfinder up and look for good compositions within your frame. Once a good arrangement is found, begin to draw. Hold up the viewfinder and refer to the view through the viewfinder as needed, while drawing.
THE TIMES: American Impressionism is the term given to those who lived in America and copied the techniques of Impressionism. These techniques included loosely applied brush strokes and intense color. Americans became aware of this style in the 1880’s when Impressionist art from Europe was displayed in Boston and New York. The movement had started twenty years earlier. Impressionism appealed to the tastes of the American public long before it was widely enjoyed in Europe, where it first started. Impressionism inspired a rtist’s colonies to sprout up in small American towns. There artists could paint the American scenery and live relatively cheaply. Groups of artists who thought alike could get together to talk about what they were painting and express new ideas. Today one still finds art colonies and centers throughout the United States where artists gather for fellowship and inspiration.
Cut one piece or glue two pieces together.
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