Avenue of the Allies, Great Britain, 1918

The only major American Impressionist to depict the home front during World War I, Hassam produced his Flag series, some thirty canvases representing Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and adjacent streets decorated with patriotic emblems, from 1916 to 1919. For Liberty Loan drives, organized by the United States government to promote the sale of savings bonds, stretches of Fifth Avenue were draped with flags and red-and-white Liberty Loan banners. Here, Hassam looked north from Fifty-Third Street and compressed into a vibrant pattern three blocks of the avenue bearing flags of the Allies Great Britain, Brazil, and Belgium in addition to the Stars and Stripes.