Allies Day 1917

Childe Hassam created ‘Allies Day’ as an oil on canvas, and you can almost feel the energy of the moment through his brushstrokes. The colours are muted, but the flags, oh, they pop with excitement! Up close, you see how Hassam builds up the painting's surface with small touches of contrasting colour. The buildings in the background seem to emerge from a haze of layered brush marks. Look at how he renders the flags. Short, choppy brushstrokes of red, white, and blue sit side by side. See the way he’s applied the paint thickly, almost scrubbing it onto the canvas, giving everything a kind of shimmering, vibrating quality. It’s as if Hassam wanted to capture not just the sight of the flags, but the very feeling of patriotism in the air! Hassam's approach reminds me of Monet. They both capture fleeting moments in paint, prioritizing feeling over perfect accuracy. But unlike Monet, Hassam is deeply invested in the American experience, portraying it with a unique blend of impressionistic technique and national pride.