The Brush House

Childe Hassam American
1916
Not on view
Between 1896 and 1916, Hassam spent productive periods working in Cos Cob, Connecticut, a modest waterfront section of Greenwich frequented by writers, editors, and musicians as well as painters. The art colonists congregated at a rambling old saltbox that was operated as a genteel boardinghouse by Josephine Holley and her daughter Constant. The old houses, barns, mill, and nearby shipyard inspired so many pictures that Hassam nicknamed the art colony "the Cos Cob Clapboard School." Hassam focused on figural and architectural subjects, including the Holley House itself (now called the Bush-Holley House, a museum operated by the Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich). Across the road from the Holley House, the Brush house was built sometime between 1751 and 1784. Artists sometimes roomed at Brush's if the Holley House was full, but its ramshackle condition made it more desirable as the subject of a picture than as a place to stay. In this watercolor of the house, Hassam focused on the network of shadows on the steep roof. He left the paper bare to suggest patches of sunlight in some areas; in others he painted wet-into-wet to produce veils of color.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Brush House
  • Artist: Childe Hassam (American, Dorchester, Massachusetts 1859–1935 East Hampton, New York)
  • Date: 1916
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper
  • Dimensions: 15 5/16 x 22 5/16 in. (38.9 x 56.7 cm)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.31.1
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.