Book of the Week (9/5/2016)

American Impressionist: Childe Hassam and the Isles of Shoals by Austen Barron Bailly, John W. Coffey (editors) (Salem, Massachusetts : Peabody Essex Museum, 2016.)

"Childe Hassam (1859–1935) was the foremost American impressionist of his generation. Prolific in oil paintings and watercolors, he found his native New England to be a touchstone for his art. Hassam had a fascination with Appledore, the largest island of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire, and he traveled there almost every summer for thirty years. This fascinating book traces Hassam’s artistic exploration of Appledore and reveals a complex portrait of the island created over time. John W. Coffey, working with the marine biologist Hal Weeks, revisits Hassam’s painting sites, identifying where, what, and how the artist painted on the island. Kathleen M. Burnside considers the range of the artist's stylistic responses to the island's nature. A photo essay by Alexandra de Steiguer reveals Appledore’s enduring beauty." --Amazon.com

This beautiful exhibition catalog of American impressionist Childe Hassam's work featuring The Isles of Shoals accompanies the exhibition of the same name at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts through November 6, 2016.