Lilies 1910

Childe Hassam, around the turn of the century, made this dreamy painting with oils, probably standing right there in the garden. Imagine him, squinting in the sun, trying to capture that fleeting moment of light. The lilies are like a chorus line of white, each brushstroke a little dancer in the breeze. The surface has got that lovely, broken texture, almost like you could reach out and touch the petals. I can see the influence of Monet, but Hassam brings his own kind of American sweetness to it, don't you think? The way he renders the figure, so relaxed and pensive, it feels like she’s part of the landscape, a lily herself. Painters are always looking at each other, borrowing and riffing. Hassam took what he learned from the French guys and made something uniquely his own. It’s like a conversation that never ends.