East Hampton 1920

Childe Hassam made this painting of a beach in East Hampton using oil paint and a whole lotta intuition. The brushstrokes, they're like individual thoughts, each dab a decision, building up to this shimmering surface. Look at how the paint is laid down, not trying to hide itself, all these little marks. It's like Hassam's saying, "Hey, this is paint, and this is how I'm using it to show you what I saw." The texture is so alive, almost like you can feel the gritty sand and the salty spray, and it gives you a sense of what it might have been like to be there. Check out the way he captures the light on the water, how it dances and shifts with each wave. It reminds me a bit of Monet, but with a distinctly American feel. Both artists embraced ambiguity, finding poetry in the way light and colour can suggest movement and capture the essence of a moment.