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Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

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Childe Hassam

Diamond Cove, Isles of Shoals

1908

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A leading figure of the American Impressionist movement, Childe Hassam developed a distinctive painting style characterized by quick brushwork, solid volumes, and close attention to the changing effects of atmosphere and light. "Diamond Cove, Isles of Shoals" depicts a granite outcropping on the southwest side of an island known as Appledore, part of the Isles of Shoals off the Atlantic coast near the border of Maine and New Hampshire. Hassam aimed to transform the vision of the natural world into paint through the lens of individual perception. A range of translucent brown and blue tones suggests the complex visual interplay between the transparent water and jagged rocks, with short, thick marks evoking the rippling motion of the water. In the upper left, a rocky formation juts out above the water, while submerged rocks visible in the shallow, clear water of low tide create an effect of visual unity across the picture plane. Hassam’s tight focus on a selected element from nature illustrates his interest in using a modern style of painting to capture the sensations of a specific moment and place. [Exhibition label, 2013]

  • Artist Childe Hassam (American, 1859–1935)
  • Title Diamond Cove, Isles of Shoals
  • Date 1908
  • Medium Oil on board
  • Dimensions unframed | 25 1/4 x 30 3/8 in.
  • Credit line University purchase, Bixby Fund, 1914
  • Object number WU 2186

American Impressionist: Childe Hassam and the Isles of Shoals
North Carolina Museum of Art, 03/19/2016 - 06/19/2016
Peabody Essex Museum, 07/16/2016 - 11/06/2016

American Places: Painting the Landscape in the Nineteenth Century
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 09/20/2013 - 01/06/2014

Art and the Mind-Brain
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 01/27/2012 - 04/16/2012

A Gallery of Modern Art
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 08/09/1994 - 10/16/1994

Nineteenth Century Art from the Collection
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 01/19/1986 - 04/01/1986

Nature and the Figure
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 01/09/1983 - 03/06/1983

Impressionism Reflected: American Art, 1890–1920
Saint Louis Art Museum, 05/06/1982 - 06/27/1982

The Way We See It: America by Americans 1850–1980
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 10/10/1982 - 11/07/1982

The Centennial Exhibition
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 05/15/1981 - 10/11/1981

Portraits and Landscapes

Salute to St. Louis
Stix, Baer & Fuller Department Store, 10/04/1965 - 10/16/1965

Opening Exhibition of Mark C. Steinberg Memorial Hall
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 04/29/1960

Exhibition of a Retrospective Group of Paintings of Childe Hassam
Buffalo AKG Art Museum, 03/09/1929 - 04/08/1929

Inscription Recto, center left, in black paint: Childe Hassam 1908

This artwork record may be incomplete or need refinement. Our staff actively researches the collection and revises records when new information is available. If you have questions or comments about this record, please contact us.

Related Content

go to Exhibition of a Retrospective Group of Paintings of Childe Hassam page
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Exhibitions

Exhibition of a Retrospective Group of Paintings of Childe Hassam

March 09, 1929–April 08, 1929
go to Impressionism Reflected: American Art, 1890–1920 page
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May 06, 1982–June 27, 1982
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January 09, 1983–March 06, 1983
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January 19, 1986–April 01, 1986
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June 01, 1978–August 31, 1978
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May 15, 1981–October 11, 1981
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Exhibitions

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October 10, 1982–November 07, 1982
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Exhibitions

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October 04, 1965–October 16, 1965
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Exhibitions

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August 09, 1994–October 16, 1994
go to Opening Exhibition of Mark C. Steinberg Memorial Hall page
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Exhibitions

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April 29, 1960
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Exhibitions

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January 27, 2012–April 16, 2012
go to American Places: Painting the Landscape in the Nineteenth Century page
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Exhibitions

American Places: Painting the Landscape in the Nineteenth Century

September 20, 2013–January 06, 2014
go to American Impressionist: Childe Hassam and the Isles of Shoals page
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Exhibitions

American Impressionist: Childe Hassam and the Isles of Shoals

March 19, 2016–November 06, 2016

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