Westminster Bridge (Primary Title)
Childe Hassam, American, 1859 - 1935 (Artist)
A group of urban pedestrians makes haste across London’s Westminster Bridge, each figure a sweep of dark color contained in black, calligraphic strokes. Surrounding them, a cool palette and broad brush suggest the slick surfaces of wet weather. The rainy atmosphere is reinforced by the haze that casts Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament in a whitened silhouette. For all Hassam’s attention to mood, however, his treatment of human mobility is a more striking aspect of the painting: form has been lost in pace. As technology and trade reorganized the developed world into industrial powers, dramatic social, economic, and political change thrust urban populations into the 20th century. Hassam captures the era through the semblance of momentum that visually propels his figures across the bridge.
at lower left: "Childe Hassam 1898"
James W. and Frances Gibson McGlothlin Collection
"American Art from the McGlothlin Collection" Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (1 May - 18 July 2010).
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
