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The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate

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The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate
ArtistChilde HassamEdit this on Wikidata
Year1914
Mediumoil paint,canvas
Dimensions30 in (76 cm) × 32 in (81 cm)
LocationBrauer Museum of Art
Accession No.67.02Edit this on Wikidata
[edit on Wikidata]

The Silver Veil and the Golden Gateis a late period,coastal landscapepainting by American ImpressionistChilde Hassam.Completed in 1914 during one of his visits to California, the piece depicts theGolden GateStrait, a narrow passage connecting theSan Francisco Bayto thePacific Ocean,as seen nearSausalito.The "silver veil" refers to the iconicSan Francisco fogthat frequently envelops the region.

Hassam spent several months in the Bay Area in the late winter and early spring, completing preparations on a mural he created for thePanama–Pacific International Expositionto be held the next year, a cultural event celebrating the completion of thePanama Canaland showcasing artistic innovation. After finishing the installation of the mural at thePalace of Fine Arts,Hassam traveled around Northern California, from Sonoma to Point Lobos, painting along the way with fellow artists. The painting of the Golden Gate belongs to this California series comprising at least a dozen works, 11 of which were completed by Hassam during his 1914 trip.

In 2023,Valparaiso Universityannounced its intention to sell the artwork, aiming to raise funds for the construction of new student dormitories. The decision was controversial, with Valparaiso arguing in court that the original acquisition of the painting in 1967 had never aligned with the conservative ethos prescribed by the Sloan Trust.

Description

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From the vantage point of Sausalito, an ethereal fog is seen, a silver veil gracefully enveloping the hills above the San Francsico Bay,[1]merging with the landscape and creating a harmonious symphony of cool tones in the upper right.[2]The heavy reliance on blue color evokes the cool climate of the Bay Area with its marine atmosphere and coastal stratus.[3]The work is signed in blue and red paint on the bottom right of the canvas,Childe Hassan / Sausalito 1914.[4]TheMarin Headlandspeninsula, as it appeared before the completion of theGolden Gate Bridgein 1937, looms large in the painting.

Background

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See also:Ten American Painters,Late period of Childe Hassam,andCalifornia series by Childe Hassam
The Court of Palms; facade of the Palace of Education (left)

Childe Hassam (1859–1935) worked as an Impressionist artist in New York and New England, but he made several trips to theSan Francisco Bay Areathroughout his career.[2]Hassam visited Northern California at least three times, in 1904, 1908, and 1914, and toured Southern California at least once in 1927.[5]Out of his approximately 4000 works, Hassam's focus on California is relatively small, with only 12 major California works completed between 1904[6]and 1927.[7]There are additional minor works in the series, mostlyetchings.[8]By 1912, Hassam had become highly recognized as an artist, winning more than 20 awards for his work.[9]In January 1913, architectHenry Bacon(1866–1924), who engineered and designed theLincoln Memorial,helped Hassam receive a commission to paint a mural for the upcomingPanama–Pacific International Exposition(PPIE) in San Francisco.[5]A month later, a dozen of his works appeared at theArmory Showin New York City until mid-March, then traveling to theArt Institute of Chicago,where Hassam showed 13 paintings on the second leg of the tour.[5]

Development

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The Golden Gate Strait as viewed from the Sausalito side in 2012
The Golden Gate Strait as viewed from the Sausalito side in 2012
Golden Gate Strait viewed from the Sausalito side (2012)

In February of 1914, Hassam voyaged to California to prepare his mural for the Exposition the following year. In San Francisco, he was joined by other artists, includingEdward Simmons(1852-1931),Robert Reid(1862–1929),William de Leftwich Dodge(1867– 1935), andArthur Frank Mathews(1860–1945), who also contributed murals to the Exposition. Hassam, Simmons, and Reid had first completed their murals at home in New York before arriving in San Francisco. The artists installed their murals at thePalace of Fine Arts,with Hassam placing his mural,Fruits and Flowers,in alunetteabove the entrance of the Palace of Education, on the west side.[5]Hassam would later exhibit 38 paintings at the Exposition in 1915, but would not attend. In March, all three artists exhibited their work at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco,[10]with Hassam showing 11 paintings.[5]The exhibition later traveled to Los Angeles in June.[10]

During his visit, Hassam stayed at theBohemian Cluband visitedBohemian Grove,where he attended the Grove Play with Simmons.[10]He was also hospitalized after a brief illness.[5]In the city, he completed the paintingTelegraph Hilland traveled across theSan Francisco Baywhere he painted inSausalito,[2]completingThe Silver Veil and the Golden Gate,acoastal landscape[11]focusing on the beauty of the bay and the structure and arrangement of the fog and clouds. The painting is similar in scope and approach to works he previously completed in Oregon.[4]Hassam continued painting landscapes inSan Anselmo(Hill of the Sun, San Anselmo, California) along with Simmons who painted the same scene as Hassam but from a different position (Bosom of the Land, San Anselmo, California).[10]Traveling next toCarmel,[2]Hassam worked with artistFrancis John McComas(1875–1938) inPoint Lobos,[7]finally leaving California in March.[5]11 of the 12 California paintings that were created in 1914 were first exhibited as part of the "California Group" of 106 paintings total in theExhibition of Pictures by Childe Hassamat the Montross Gallery in New York in 1915.[10]

Reception

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Silver and Gold(1918) by Granville Redmond

The painting was first reviewed at an exhibition in 1915 at the Montross Gallery in New York. It was among more than 100 works that were shown, of which 22 were oil paintings. Of this group, there were a total of 11 paintings shown in the California series,[12]of whichSpring Morning in California,Spring Afternoon in the California Hills,andThe Silver Veil and the Golden Gatewere described in a review forAmerican Art News.Art critic "A. v. C." made note of the filtered sunlight effects common to Impressionism and remarked that the painting ofThe Silver Veil and the Golden Gatewas reminiscent ofJ. M. W. Turner(1775–1851).[13]Art historianSusan Landauerbelieves Hassam's painting influenced California ImpressionistGranville Redmond(1871–1935), particularly in his workSilver and Gold(1918).[1]Curator Nancy Boas and art historian Marc Simpson considerThe Silver Veil and the Golden Gateone of Hassam's best works in the California series.[2]Historically, Hassam's work as an Impressionist in San Francisco was somewhat unique. Even though the works of the French Impressionists were first popularized in California by San Francisco art galleries in the 1890s, and had their first major public exhibition at the PPIE in 1915, artists inNorthern Californiaremained strongly attached to the style oftonalism,not Impressionism. The vast majority of artists who took up the style of California Impressionism did so inSouthern California,not the north, leading to that region serving as the nexus for the short-lived legacy of regional Impressionism in the early 20th century.[1]

Provenance

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Main article:Valparaiso University deaccessioning controversy

Upon Hassam's death in 1935,The Silver Veil and the Golden Gatewas part of a more than 400 piece artwork bequest to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters.The painting was put up for sale sometime before 1964 and purchased byValparaiso Universityin 1967 for $9,000[14]with income from the Sloan fund.[4]It was appraised at $3.5 million in 2024.[15]In 2023, Valparaiso University, facing financial pressures amidst declining enrollment and a deficit, announced plans to sellThe Silver Veil and the Golden Gateand two other paintings in their collection to help fund dormitory renovations to attract new students. This decision raised questions about the ethics ofdeaccessioning—a process governed by ethical museum guidelines that typically mandate reinvesting the proceeds of artwork sales back into the museum's collection.[16]Valparaiso proposed selling three paintings in their art collection, arguing in court[14]that two of the three paintings,Rust Red HillsandThe Silver Veil and the Golden Gate,should never have been bought in the first place, as they were classified as modern artworks that did not meet the requirements for "conservative art" acquisitions stipulated by the Sloan Trust, whose funds were used to originally purchase the paintings.[17]

Selected exhibitions

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  • Exhibition of Pictures by Childe Hassam,Montross Gallery, New York, 1915[10]
  • St. Botolph Club, Boston, 1916[5]
  • Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, 1916[5]
  • Childe Hassam in Indiana,Ball State University Art Gallery, 1985[4]
  • Childe Hassam: Impressionist in the West,Portland Art Museum, 2004[18]

References

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  1. ^abcLandauer, Susan (1996).California Impressionists.Irvine Museum; Georgia Museum of Art. pp. 11-12, 36-38, 46, 65, 91ISBN9780915977222.OCLC1391294845.
  2. ^abcdeNash, Steven A.; Berkson, Bill. (1995).Facing Eden: 100 years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area.Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: University of California Press. p. 43-4, 45, 58, 196.ISBN9780520203624.
  3. ^Lauer, David (1990)[1979].Design Basics.3rd Ed. Holt. Rinehart and Winston. pp. 238-39.ISBN9780030304224.OCLC1029048732.
  4. ^abcdJoyaux, Alain G.; Moore, Brian A.; Griner, Ned H. (1985).Childe Hassam in Indiana.Ball State University Art Gallery. no. 10. pp. 42-43.ISBN9780915511037.OCLC952266965.
  5. ^abcdefghiWeinberg, H. Barbara; Barker, Elizabeth E. (2004).Childe Hassam, American impressionist.Metropolitan Museum of Art; Yale University Press. pp. 196-197, 201, 369-372, 373-403.ISBN9781588391193.OCLC54500279.
  6. ^Hiesinger, Ulrich W. (1994).Childe Hassam: American Impressionist.Prestel-Verlag Publishing. p. 155, 184.ISBN3791313649.OCLC624908066.
  7. ^ab"Curator notes"Archived2024-06-08 at theWayback Machine.Point Lobos, Carmel.Los Angeles County Museum of Art.Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  8. ^Broder, Janis (1984).The American West: The Modern Vision.Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. pp. 20-1.ISBN9780821215784.OCLC1396441999.
  9. ^Steadman, William E. (1972).Childe Hassam, 1859-1935.University of Arizona Museum of Art. p. 147.OCLC680449204.
  10. ^abcdefGerdts, William H.; South, Will (1998).California Impressionism.United Kingdom: Abbeville Press Publishers. pp. 53-57, 76, 189.ISBN9780789201768.OCLC1414525653.
  11. ^Richardson, Kalia (March 10, 2023)."Its Georgia O'Keeffe Is Worth Millions. And Its Dorms Need Updating"Archived2024-09-28 at theWayback Machine.The New York Times.Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  12. ^Exhibition of Pictures by Childe Hassam.Montross Gallery. New York: The Gallery. 1915.
  13. ^A.v.C. (December 4, 1915)."Childe Hassam at Montross'".American Art News.14 (9): 5.
  14. ^abVerified Petition to Modify Conditions of Charitable Trust with Respect to Three Paintings,In re Percy H. Sloan Charitable Trust, Cause No. 64D01-2405-TR-005503 (Ind. Super. Ct. filed May 28, 2024).
  15. ^Martinez-De La Cruz, Adrian (May 29, 2024)."VU petitions court to modify charitable trust in order to sell artwork"Archived2024-09-04 at theWayback Machine.The Times of Northwest Indiana.Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  16. ^Boucher, Brian (September 4, 2024)."A Court Approves Valparaiso University's Controversial Plan to Sell Paintings From Brauer Museum Collection"Archived2024-09-26 at theWayback Machine.Artnet.Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  17. ^Aguiar, Annie (July 19, 2024)."To Sell Prized Paintings, a University Proclaims They're Not 'Conservative'"Archived2024-09-07 at theWayback Machine.The New York Times.Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  18. ^Bullock, Margaret E.Childe Hassam: Impressionist in the West.Portland Art Museum, 2004, no. 51.ISBN9781883124199.OCLC607494379.
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