An Overlooked Impressionist
On Display in the Healey Library
Dena Capano
Issue date: 9/16/04 Section: Arts
When one thinks of impressionism, perhaps they think of Monet, Pissaro, or Renoir-but one impressionist they may not think of is a Dorchester native, Childe Hassam (1859-1935). Hassam was an artist who lurked in the shadows of French impressionists and his work is said to be under-appreciated.
The good news is that word about Hassam is spreading with the help of Jane Gaughan, former librarian with a doctorate in art appreciation. In collaboration with Dale Freeman, assistant archivist at the Healey Library, she has pieced together an exhibit at UMass Boston entitled "The Early Years of Childe Hassam." The exhibit highlights Hassam's early life in Dorchester and is on display on the fifth floor in the Healey Library.
"Displaying the early years of his work coincides with the archive's mission of representing local history," says Freeman. "Jane came with knowledge and we connected with our passion for research," explains Freeman. According to the Dorchester Reporter, Gaughan says, "One of the forces that shapes us is childhood, and the fact that [Hassam] spent his childhood in Dorchester is interesting."
Freeman described Hassam's artwork as underrated, perhaps because well-known European artists received the bulk of the wolrd's attention. In a review from The Patriot Ledger, Gaughan explains, "He was just too popular in his own time." The review additionally states in response to Gaughan's quote, "... commercial success for an artist is not necessarily a good thing in a society that likes its artist to suffer, even periodically to starve."
What is unique about Hassam is that he doesn't fit this "starving artist" cliché because he financially supported himself with his artwork. Leaving Dorchester high school in 1872, Hassam first went to work in an accounting department of a Boston publishing house, and then later in the firm of a Boston wood engraver. His career as an artist emerged there and he was soon a free-lance illustrator, submitting works to Harper's, Scribner's and The Century.
The good news is that word about Hassam is spreading with the help of Jane Gaughan, former librarian with a doctorate in art appreciation. In collaboration with Dale Freeman, assistant archivist at the Healey Library, she has pieced together an exhibit at UMass Boston entitled "The Early Years of Childe Hassam." The exhibit highlights Hassam's early life in Dorchester and is on display on the fifth floor in the Healey Library.
"Displaying the early years of his work coincides with the archive's mission of representing local history," says Freeman. "Jane came with knowledge and we connected with our passion for research," explains Freeman. According to the Dorchester Reporter, Gaughan says, "One of the forces that shapes us is childhood, and the fact that [Hassam] spent his childhood in Dorchester is interesting."
Freeman described Hassam's artwork as underrated, perhaps because well-known European artists received the bulk of the wolrd's attention. In a review from The Patriot Ledger, Gaughan explains, "He was just too popular in his own time." The review additionally states in response to Gaughan's quote, "... commercial success for an artist is not necessarily a good thing in a society that likes its artist to suffer, even periodically to starve."
What is unique about Hassam is that he doesn't fit this "starving artist" cliché because he financially supported himself with his artwork. Leaving Dorchester high school in 1872, Hassam first went to work in an accounting department of a Boston publishing house, and then later in the firm of a Boston wood engraver. His career as an artist emerged there and he was soon a free-lance illustrator, submitting works to Harper's, Scribner's and The Century.