Little Girl with a Pear

c. 1889–93

Childe Hassam studied drawing at the Académie Julian in Paris during the height of Impressionism. Upon his return to New York in 1889, Hassam joined the American Society of Painters in Pastel, which organized exhibitions promoting the technique. A relatively new medium to American artists, pastel had been gaining popularity in France during the nineteenth century, particularly through the bold innovations of Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt. With its light palette and lively execution, Little Girl with a Pear shares stylistic affinities with Impressionism.

Medium	pastel on tan paper
Dimensions	16 7/16 x 13 1/8 in. (41.8 x 33.3 cm) Frame: 22 3/4 x 20 1/8 x 2 in. (57.8 x 51.1 x 5.1 cm)
Object Number	1955.761
Acquisition	Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955
Status	On View

Image Caption

Childe Hassam, Little Girl with a Pear, c. 1889–93, pastel on tan paper. Clark Art Institute, 1955.761

Select Bibliography

Doll and Richards Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts. Exhibition and Private Sale of Oil Paintings and Water Color and Pastel Drawings by Childe Hassam. February 1891. Doll and Richards Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts. Exhibition and Private Sale of Pastel and Watercolor Drawings by Childe Hassam. November 1891. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.. The Ten: Works on Paper. July 18-August 24, 1980. Cat. by Christine Bartolo. "The Pastel Exhibition." The Art Amateur 23, no. 1 (June 1890): 4. Katherine S. Parks.. "Mr. Hassam's Work.". Daily Advertiser (Boston).. Nov. 17, 1891.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984. Conrads, Margaret C. American Paintings and Sculpture at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1990. Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992.

Provenance

To (American Art Association, New York, "Sale of Oil Paintings, Water Colors and Pastels by Childe Hassam," February 6–7, 1896, no. 46); Mrs. Henry Healy, Cold Spring-on-Hudson, New York; to (M. Knoedler & Co., New York, June 30, 1941); to Robert Sterling Clark, September 1, 1941.