At the Grand Prix (Primary Title)
Childe Hassam, American, 1859 - 1935 (Artist)
In this racetrack scene, two fashionably dressed women standing upright against a backdrop of hazy silhouettes appear much like mannequins, their individual identities overshadowed by concerns of color, light, and atmosphere. To this end, Hassam employed a limited and carefully contrived palette: the carriage’s midnight black with blue highlights is reiterated in the costume of the fair-haired figure; inversely, the light yellow and green of the floral bouquets is repeated in the dress of the dark-haired woman. The controlled use of color extends to the background, where emphasis is on atmospheric effects. Hassam’s experiment with color and light is combined with a composition that is also unconventional. The fractional depiction of the dark carriage both anchors the image and locates the viewer at ground level, inviting us into the scene.
at lower right: "Childe / Hassam"
James W. and Frances Gibson McGlothlin Collection
[likely] "Fourth Exhibition," Society of Painters in Pastel, Wunderlich Gallery, New York (May 1890).
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