Rainy Midnight Mug – Childe Hassam

About this piece

Childe Hassam’s Rainy Midnight turns a city street into a shimmering pattern of darkness and light. Horse-drawn traffic moves through the wet night as reflections stretch across the pavement and lamps glow through misty air. Rather than carefully outlining every building and vehicle, Hassam lets softened forms and blue-violet tones describe the atmosphere. The painting dates to the late 1890s, when rapidly changing American cities offered artists new subjects from everyday life.