Fifth Avenue (1919)

Hassam, Childe (1859-1935)

Fifth Avenue
1919
Oil on canvas, 61.3 x 51.5 cm
Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland

During World War I, the fiercely nationalistic Hassam was mistakenly arrested for being a German spy. Childe Hassam was fascinated by bustling Fifth Avenue, the famed Manhattan thoroughfare quickly becoming a popular shopping district around the time he made this painting. His composition features flecks of color and blurred forms to approximate reflected light and rapid movement. The accelerated pace of modern life is suggested through the street full of streaming traffic, including two green double-decker buses at lower right. (CMA)

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Fifth Avenue | Manhattan | New York, NY (USA)