It was a beautiful painting; the clear blue sky and the large beautiful flags gave one a sense of awe and admiration. In addition to the beauty, this painting also depicted its time period immensely. The depiction, however, was not easy to spot. When one looked at this painting (only at the painting, not at the title), one did not think, “This shows the year 1917.” However, through slight research, one learned to appreciate the historical beauty behind this masterpiece. Allies Day, May 1917 depicted the flag display in New York, impressionism, and most important of all, the Great War.
On May 13, 1916, the great Preparedness Day parade was held in New York. Since then, the flags were hung and Hassam got his inspiration for Allies Day as well as the rest of the flag series. The flags, hung on Fifth Avenue, Fifty-Seventh Street, and other nearby streets, were hung mainly to show support and pride in the Allies who were fighting in the World War I. Hassam painted a collection of 24 paintings, commonly called “the flag series”, that depicted the flags hung in New York, Allies Day being part of the series. The flag series were all painted in the morning, but the weather depended. Initially, Hassam had hoped that the collection would stay together. However, his hope was not fulfilled. The paintings were scattered about; some were owned by museums while others were owned by private collectors. The flag display in New York, however, was only one way Allies Day depicted its time period. Through research, one learned that Allies Day depicted its period in many other ways.
Allies Day, as well as other paintings by Hassam, was painted in the impressionist style. The style was very popular during Hassam's time, mainly in France. The term “impressionism” was coined from Monet's Impression, soleil levant. Impressionism began in Paris with a group of Parisian artists that displayed an art exhibition. The exhibition was rejected by critics, but the style was gradually adopted by many artists. America was first introduced to impressionism by Lilla Cabbot Perry, but Hassam caught it while staying in Paris. An impressionist piece of art had many qualities that sets it apart from other artworks. Among them included visible brush strokes, light colors, emphasis on light, and little pigment mixing. Impressionist painters often painted “en plein air”, French for outside. Probably the most important quality of an impressionist painting was that the scene of the painting was usually mundane; something that you may see on an everyday basis (That is only if you lived during their time of course). Some impressionist paintings may have seemed heroic or patriotic, but that is only because the scene itself was heroic or patriotic; the artist did nothing to romanticize it. Impressionism is an important topic that this painting reflected. Most important of all, Allies Day, May 1917 reflected a very important period in the history of America as well as the history of the world that has left a tremendous impact.
The flags in Allies Day showed the American patriotism and support during 1917, when America was fighting in the Great War. Though indirectly through the American patriotism, this painting was a reflection of World War I. From the different nationalities that the flags represented to the title, one realized how this painting connects to World War I. World War I was considered to have begun with the assassination of the archduke of Austria, but historians can trace the beginnings back to the building of alliances and the arms race. When the archduke was assassinated by a Serb, Austria declared war on Serbia and, through the many alliances formed before the war, many countries joined the war. There were two main forces, the Entente Forces which included Serbia, Russia, the British Empire, France, Italy, later, the United-States, and many other minor allies. The other force, the Central Powers, was made up of Austro-Hungary, Germany, the Ottomans, and Bulgaria. America entered the Great War in 1917 when Germany resumed its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. Although America's contribution to the Great War was significant, America was never an official member of the Entente. The Great War eventually ended through the Treaty of Versailles when Germany was feeling the effects of defeat. When the war ended, the total casualties numbered to about 15.1 million. Allies Day may not have reflected of all this, but it did reflect World War I in an indirect way and the American patriotism that was very apparent at the time.
Allies Day, May 1917 by Childe Hassam was reflective of its time in three major ways. The piece of art depicted impressionism, the popular style it was painted in. It depicted the flag display in New York at the time, which is obvious. Most important of all, it depicted World War I in an indirect way through the patriotism of the Americans. As well as being historically reflective, Allies Day was also a very beautiful piece of art and definitely considered one of the greatest American pieces of art. When one looked at this masterpiece critically, one may also have learned to appreciate the historical significance of other artworks and learn their true beauty.
