Isle of Shoals 1886

Curator: There’s such a tender fragility to this one, like a whispered memory. It’s Childe Hassam’s watercolor, “Isle of Shoals,” painted in 1886. Immediately, I sense a deep peace emanating from the way the pigments blur together. Editor: My first impression is of airiness. There's so much sky! It dwarfs the land, emphasizing the open space and that feeling of being on an edge, a border. You know, Hassam really was embracing plein-air painting around this time. Curator: Absolutely. And he uses that hazy quality to evoke a mood, doesn’t he? The pale blues melting into the whites…almost like a sigh escaping onto the canvas. This location on the Isles of Shoals was, to Hassam, the ideal escape to create an American impressionist painting. Editor: I see what you mean. Hassam and other artists were flocking to places like Appledore Island during the late 19th century. They sought a specifically "American" aesthetic. I believe that the watercolor captures the intersection of tourism and the creation of a distinctly American identity in art at that time. What looks like the grand hotels in the distance would have brought wealthy folks seeking a restorative coastal setting. Curator: Funny how tourism transforms a landscape, doesn’t it? But look at the wildflowers in the foreground! It's a reminder that even in a "managed" or cultivated landscape, nature has a persistent wildness to it. Editor: Indeed. Hassam often depicted the upper middle class enjoying these outdoor spaces. Although less pointedly here, these works are definitely part of that bigger story of shaping leisure, and even visual culture, within the nation. The art market was really booming at that time too and many impressionist artists made careers depicting beachside settings, similar to this piece. Curator: The faintest stroke can alter the story, can’t it? A bit like how the Isles themselves were shaped both by the natural elements, but more and more so, human intervention during this period of the 19th Century. Still… for me, it's primarily about a fleeting moment captured in pigment and water. That’s its charm. Editor: It's amazing how the setting sun shapes the reception of a space like this and its portrayal through artworks such as Hassam's. The rise of Impressionism mirrored broader social shifts, and Hassam’s work became intertwined with ideas about leisure and nationhood, don't you think?