In the Garden

Childe Hassam painted "In the Garden" in 1892 while visiting Celia Thaxter on Appledore Island, Maine. Thaxter was a popular poet and writer whose island home welcomed artists, musicians, and other writers. Hassam became her friend and returned to the island over many summers. Its garden became one of his favorite subjects in New England. In 1894, he also made illustrations for Thaxter's book "An Island Garden". The painting at the Smithsonian records both their friendship and the creative community that gathered around her home.