Grand Prix Day
by HASSAM, Childe, Oil on canvas, 61 x 86 cm
Hassam began to make a name for himself with rainy or snowy city scenes. In 1886, he went to Europe, this time to Paris. In this period he began to use a more Impressionist technique and colourism. Grand Prix Day, painted in 1887, is generally cited as the earliest work in his changed style. His palette brighter, his accentual colour contrasts strong, Hassam has turned away from the rain to a sunny summer’s day and a crowd on their way to the big June races at Longchamp in the Bois de Boulogne.