Cat Boats, Newport

Cat boats—the single-masted, broad-beamed sailboats traditional to New England—were as characteristic of Newport's harbor as the grand mansions on its cliffs, providing Hassam with a subject that combined the beauty of sail against sky and water with the authentic working character of the local maritime tradition. This 1901 canvas at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts captures the boats at rest or under gentle wind, their white sails creating strong diagonal forms against the harbor's light. Newport's combination of leisure class and maritime industry gave Hassam access to both the social and natural beauty he consistently sought in his subjects.

The white sails are painted with the full luminosity Hassam achieved through his broken-color technique, the canvas weave and varied brushstroke contributing to the sense that the sails are genuinely catching light rather than merely describing it. The harbor water is treated in complementary blues and greens that vibrate against the warm ochres of the hulls.