Artwork
Old House at East Hampton
Old House at East Hampton is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Childe Hassam. It dates from 1916 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left: Childe Hassam 1916
About this work
The bright blues and soft greens feel alive, like a quiet summer day.
This painting shows a blue-shingled house in East Hampton. Pink flowers brighten the green trees. Inside, you can just see a staircase behind the open door.
Hassam painted this in 1916, when he often worked in the Hamptons. He liked how light played on old wood and fresh paint. The bright blues and soft greens feel alive, like a quiet summer day.
If you like this, check out more work by Hassam, Childe.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a modest residential structure situated on the eastern end of Long Island in East Hampton, New York. It is rendered as a sunlit, weathered farmhouse with a steeply pitched roof, shuttered windows, and a modest front porch, set against a clear summer sky and flanked by mature trees and rolling terrain. Hassam’s treatment emphasizes the quiet domestic character of the scene, using precise brushwork and a naturalistic palette to convey a sense of stability and continuity tied to the historic New England‑style architecture that defined the Hamptons landscape.
The work thus functions as both a topographical record and an implicit celebration of the region’s enduring rural identity, reflecting the artist’s fascination with the interplay of light, form, and place.
Technique & Style
Childe Hassam executed Old House at East Hampton in 1916 using oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 81.92 cm in height and 100.33 cm in width. Classified as a landscape, the painting exemplifies the artist's engagement with American Impressionism, capturing the architectural and natural elements of the East Hampton setting.
The surface treatment and handling of the medium reflect Hassam's characteristic approach to light and form during this period.
History & Provenance
Childe Hassam painted Old House at East Hampton in 1916, an oil on canvas work measuring 81.92 cm by 100.33 cm. The artist sold the painting directly to George M. Oyster, Jr., a Washington-based collector, in 1920; Oyster later bequeathed it to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in January 1924. The Corcoran retained ownership until 2015, when the National Gallery of Art acquired the work for its collection.
Hassam likely sold the painting through the Corcoran's 1919-1920 Seventh Exhibition of Contemporary American Artists, an event that may have facilitated its initial sale to Oyster.
The painting is now held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and was accessioned in 2015.
The painting Old House at East Hampton is currently held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., following its transfer from the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 2015. The work was originally created by Childe Hassam in 1916 and entered the Corcoran's collection through a bequest received on January 21, 1924, from the estate of George M. Oyster, Jr. Oyster had acquired the piece in 1920, likely at the Corcoran's Seventh Exhibition of Oil Paintings by Contemporary American Artists held during the 1919–1920 season. The National Gallery of Art now maintains the work in its permanent collection.
Overview
Childe Hassam’s 1916 oil on canvas presents a modest residence in East Hampton, its façade covered in blue shingles and framed by verdant trees. A doorway opens onto a view of an interior staircase, while a single tree displays pink blossoms amid the foliage. The composition balances architectural detail with a lively natural setting.
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Artist
Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes.
