Childe Hassam - Poppies (Poppies, Isles of Shoals) [1891]

Childe Hassam - Poppies (Poppies, Isles of Shoals) [1891], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

This painting shows the view from Celia Thaxter's flower garden on the Isles of Shoals toward an outcropping called Babb's Rock. Although one could see ample signs of man's presence from Thaxter's garden, Hassam usually excluded them from his paintings. Here, only a sailboat passing in the distance hints that we are not in a pristine, wild environment. The composition is arranged with three distinct and equal bands of space. In each zone different colours predominate: green and red for the flowers; blue, purple, and white for the rocks and water; and pale blue for the sky. Hassam's brushwork is equally varied, ranging from lush red and white strokes defining the flowers to long drags of pigment to suggest the multihued surfaces of the rocks. At the bottom he left areas of canvas bare, adding yet another colour and texture.

[National Gallery of Art, Washington - Oil on canvas, 50.2 x 61 cm]