Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Ernest Hickok, Summit, New Jersey
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, New York, 1978
Daniel J. Terra Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1978
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1992
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Childe Hassam
(American, 1859–1935)
Columbian Exposition, Chicago
1892
Gouache "en grisaille" over graphite on tan wove paper
Image: 10 5/8 x 14 in. (27.0 x 35.6 cm)
Frame: 19 3/4 x 22 13/16 x 2 5/16 in. (50.2 x 57.9 x 5.9 cm)
Frame: 19 3/4 x 22 13/16 x 2 5/16 in. (50.2 x 57.9 x 5.9 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1992.38
SignedLower right: Childe Hassam
InterpretationColumbian Exposition, Chicago shows a scene at the World's Fair of 1893: the corner of the north façade of the United States Government Building and the footbridge that spanned the lagoon to the wooded island. Working from architects’ drawings, Childe Hassam painted the scene months before the fair opened. Nonetheless, Columbian Exposition, Chicago projects a visitor’s real-life experience of the fair, in which such mammoth, imposing structures would contrast with the spontaneous movement of crowds flowing over the footbridge, a launch gliding by on the lagoon, and flags fluttering in the breeze. To achieve this effect in black and white, Hassam used fluid paint application and an informal composition, in which objects are arbitrarily cropped by the side edges of the picture. These features signal his adherence to the aesthetic of impressionism, the portrayal of everyday subjects with broken brushstrokes to capture the shimmering effect of light reflections and the transience of modern life.
Along with the Terra Foundation’s oil painting Horticulture Building, World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago (TF 1999.67), Columbian Exposition, Chicago is one of numerous images of the world’s fair that Hassam executed on commission for reproduction in a variety of souvenir publications. Among several artists invited to do such work, he was perhaps the most qualified: added to his prestigious training abroad and his early work in graphic illustration was Hassam’s standing as a pioneer of modern urban subjects. Indeed, his large street scene Une Averse—Rue Bonaparte, (TF 1993.20) also in the Terra Foundation’s collection, was one of a group of paintings that won Hassam a bronze medal in the art exhibition at the fair.
Ostensibly a celebration of the four-hundredth anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s landing in the Americas, the World’s Columbian Exposition was a grandly ambitious statement of the United States’ arrival as both a torchbearer of civilization and the coming technological, economic, and political leader of the Western world. Columbian Exposition, Chicago hints at this dual vision, at once retrospective and prefigurative. Hassam used his impressionist technique to render the so-called White City, a pastiche of fairytale classicism, as a thoroughly modern setting that inspired hope for the future of urbanism. The fair was intended as a model city not only in its technology and orderly architecture but also in its vision of social order—as a private fair, it could encourage visitors to respect its established hours, fees, and rules. The well-dressed, genteel visitors seen from a distance in Columbian Exposition, Chicago can be compared to figures in Hassam's paintings of actual cities, suggesting that the artist preferred to represent scenes of genteel civility and social decorum.
Along with the Terra Foundation’s oil painting Horticulture Building, World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago (TF 1999.67), Columbian Exposition, Chicago is one of numerous images of the world’s fair that Hassam executed on commission for reproduction in a variety of souvenir publications. Among several artists invited to do such work, he was perhaps the most qualified: added to his prestigious training abroad and his early work in graphic illustration was Hassam’s standing as a pioneer of modern urban subjects. Indeed, his large street scene Une Averse—Rue Bonaparte, (TF 1993.20) also in the Terra Foundation’s collection, was one of a group of paintings that won Hassam a bronze medal in the art exhibition at the fair.
Ostensibly a celebration of the four-hundredth anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s landing in the Americas, the World’s Columbian Exposition was a grandly ambitious statement of the United States’ arrival as both a torchbearer of civilization and the coming technological, economic, and political leader of the Western world. Columbian Exposition, Chicago hints at this dual vision, at once retrospective and prefigurative. Hassam used his impressionist technique to render the so-called White City, a pastiche of fairytale classicism, as a thoroughly modern setting that inspired hope for the future of urbanism. The fair was intended as a model city not only in its technology and orderly architecture but also in its vision of social order—as a private fair, it could encourage visitors to respect its established hours, fees, and rules. The well-dressed, genteel visitors seen from a distance in Columbian Exposition, Chicago can be compared to figures in Hassam's paintings of actual cities, suggesting that the artist preferred to represent scenes of genteel civility and social decorum.
Ernest Hickok, Summit, New Jersey
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, New York, 1978
Daniel J. Terra Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1978
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1992
Exhibition History
Life in 19th Century America, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 1–November 15, 1981. [exh. cat.]
A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Life in 19th Century America, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, June 24–September 6, 1987.
An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 1993.
The Fair View: Representations of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan (organizer). Venues: The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan, October 30–December 31, 1993; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 21–October 17, 1993. [exh. cat.]
Visions of a Nation: Exploring Identity through American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1995–January 12, 1996.
Figures and Forms: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 9–July 9, 2000.
L'héroïque et le quotidien: les artistes américains, 1820–1920 (The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 30, 2001. [exh. cat.]
In the Streets: Modern Life and Urban Experiences in the Art of the United States, 1893-1976 (Pelas ruas: vida moderna e experiências urbanas na arte dos Estados Unidos, 1893–1976). Terra Foundation for American Art and Pinacoteca de São Paulo (organizers). Venue: Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, August 27, 2022–January 30, 2023. [exh. cat.]
A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Life in 19th Century America, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, June 24–September 6, 1987.
An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 1993.
The Fair View: Representations of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan (organizer). Venues: The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan, October 30–December 31, 1993; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 21–October 17, 1993. [exh. cat.]
Visions of a Nation: Exploring Identity through American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1995–January 12, 1996.
Figures and Forms: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 9–July 9, 2000.
L'héroïque et le quotidien: les artistes américains, 1820–1920 (The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 30, 2001. [exh. cat.]
In the Streets: Modern Life and Urban Experiences in the Art of the United States, 1893-1976 (Pelas ruas: vida moderna e experiências urbanas na arte dos Estados Unidos, 1893–1976). Terra Foundation for American Art and Pinacoteca de São Paulo (organizers). Venue: Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, August 27, 2022–January 30, 2023. [exh. cat.]
Sokol, David M. Life in 19th Century America: An Exhibition of American Genre Painting. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Evanston, Illinois: Terra Museum of American Art, 1981. Text p. 46; fig. 84, p. 46 (black & white).
Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-128, p. 237 (color).
Montgomery, Elizabeth Miles. American Impressionists. Greenwich, Connecticut: Brompton Books Corporation, 1991. Ill. pp. 76–77 (color).
Southgate, M. Therese. "The Cover." The Journal of the American Medical Association 268:7 (August 19, 1992): 840. Text p. 840; ill. cover (color).
The Fair View: Representations of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. (exh. cat., The University of Michigan Museum of Art). Ann Arbor, Michigan: The University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1993. Text pp. 17, 29 (list of illustrations); fig. 7, p. 17 (black & white).
The Journal of the American Medical Association France 5:41 (March 1993): cover. Ill. cover (color).
The Journal of the American Medical Association Greece (March 1993): cover. Ill. cover (color).
The Journal of the American Medical Association Czechoslovakia (1993): cover. Ill. cover (color).
Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Frederick Childe Hassam. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 1993. Ill. (black & white).
Lovell, Margaretta M. "Picturing 'A City for a Single Summer': Paintings of the World's Columbian Exposition." The Art Bulletin 78:1 (March 1996): 40–55. Text p. 53; fig. 13, p. 55 (black & white).
Cartwright, Derrick R. The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text p. 23 (checklist).
Cartwright, Derrick R. L'héroïque et le quotidien: les artistes américains, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text p. 23 (checklist).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 102, 197; ill. pp. 103 (color), 197 (black & white).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 102, 197; ill. pp. 103 (color), 197 (black & white).
Southgate, M. Therese. The Art of JAMA III: Covers and Essays from the Journal of the American Medical Association. Chicago, Illinois: American Medical Association, 2011. Text pp. 112, 2082; ill. opposite p. 112 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. American Impressionism: A New Vision 1880–1900. (exh. cat., Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, National Galleries of Scotland, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza). Giverny, France: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, 2014. (English, French and Spanish versions). Ill. p. 148 (color).
Piccoli, Valéria, Fernanda Pitta, and Taylor Poulin. Pelas ruas: vida moderna e experiências urbanas na arte dos Estados Unidos, 1893-1976. (exh. cat., Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and Terra Foundation for American Art). São Paulo, Brazil: Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, 2022. Pl. p. 20 (color).
Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-128, p. 237 (color).
Montgomery, Elizabeth Miles. American Impressionists. Greenwich, Connecticut: Brompton Books Corporation, 1991. Ill. pp. 76–77 (color).
Southgate, M. Therese. "The Cover." The Journal of the American Medical Association 268:7 (August 19, 1992): 840. Text p. 840; ill. cover (color).
The Fair View: Representations of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. (exh. cat., The University of Michigan Museum of Art). Ann Arbor, Michigan: The University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1993. Text pp. 17, 29 (list of illustrations); fig. 7, p. 17 (black & white).
The Journal of the American Medical Association France 5:41 (March 1993): cover. Ill. cover (color).
The Journal of the American Medical Association Greece (March 1993): cover. Ill. cover (color).
The Journal of the American Medical Association Czechoslovakia (1993): cover. Ill. cover (color).
Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Frederick Childe Hassam. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 1993. Ill. (black & white).
Lovell, Margaretta M. "Picturing 'A City for a Single Summer': Paintings of the World's Columbian Exposition." The Art Bulletin 78:1 (March 1996): 40–55. Text p. 53; fig. 13, p. 55 (black & white).
Cartwright, Derrick R. The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text p. 23 (checklist).
Cartwright, Derrick R. L'héroïque et le quotidien: les artistes américains, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text p. 23 (checklist).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 102, 197; ill. pp. 103 (color), 197 (black & white).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 102, 197; ill. pp. 103 (color), 197 (black & white).
Southgate, M. Therese. The Art of JAMA III: Covers and Essays from the Journal of the American Medical Association. Chicago, Illinois: American Medical Association, 2011. Text pp. 112, 2082; ill. opposite p. 112 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. American Impressionism: A New Vision 1880–1900. (exh. cat., Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, National Galleries of Scotland, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza). Giverny, France: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, 2014. (English, French and Spanish versions). Ill. p. 148 (color).
Piccoli, Valéria, Fernanda Pitta, and Taylor Poulin. Pelas ruas: vida moderna e experiências urbanas na arte dos Estados Unidos, 1893-1976. (exh. cat., Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and Terra Foundation for American Art). São Paulo, Brazil: Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, 2022. Pl. p. 20 (color).