A Familiar Tune 

Childe Hassam made this watercolor, titled 'A Familiar Tune', sometime in the late 19th century in the United States. The scene depicts a woman seated indoors, playing a banjo. The banjo itself carries a complex history, evolving from instruments brought over by enslaved Africans. By the late 19th century, it had become a popular instrument across social classes. Hassam’s choice to depict a woman of apparent means playing the banjo speaks to the instrument’s widespread appeal, but also perhaps subtly acknowledges the ways in which cultural forms can be adopted across lines of race and class. Consider the setting: a comfortable, yet somewhat spare, domestic interior. Fireplace. Rugs. Cats. These details evoke a sense of warmth and domesticity, but also speak to the changing roles of women in society. We can look to periodicals, literature, and musical histories from this period to deepen our understanding of how these themes were discussed and debated at the time. It is through this interdisciplinary lens that the true richness of Hassam's work emerges.