Avenue of the Allies, Great Britain, 1918

Avenue of the Allies, Great Britain, 1918 is an artwork by Childe Hassam which can be found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. It is one of his famous flag series which captured the patriotic period during and just after WWI.

We find in front of us here a patriotic cityscape, as we peer down a street, with buildings on both sides. Several vehicles make their way up and down the street, but mostly it is the pavement which is filled with life, as figures going about their daily routine. The sky behind is clear but plain is a light blue tone, allowing the hanging flags to take centre stage. Flags from a whole assortment of nations decorate the sky, with large ones closer to us in order to deliver a sense of perspective. The Union Jack stands biggest, with the Brazilian and Belgian flags just behind. Several stars and stripes are dotted around, as well as some none-national flags which may be related to the armed forces of the various countries. The artist focused most of his flag series during the years of 1916 to 1919 and it was during this period that America joined the Great War, and shortly after there would be celebrations due to the conflict coming to an end.

In total, there were around 30 artworks by Hassam which focused on the flag-clad parts of New York in and around Fifth Avenue. There would also be an element of capitalism to some of these flag displays, as private enterprises would include their own advertising in an attempt to tie their success to the patriotic cause. Hassam himself would not have been interested in this, but was certainly proud of his country, as well as France which had inspired much of his art. Hassam liked to generate a postive atmosphere within his busy cityscapes, seeing development and progression as a great positive and marvelling at the growing commercial might of some of the American cities.

You will be able to find a good number of Hassam paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with also a good variety of genres included here. The venue hosts a large amount of American art, as well as plenty of well known European artists too. There are also antiquities from other civilisations to enjoy as well within an overall collection which is huge and encourages many of the public to continue to return time and time again. The Church at Gloucester, Peach Blossoms and Spring Morning in the Heart of the City are just three of the other Hassam artworks to be found here and they also have a number of drawings and lithographs from his career too. It is therefore easy to understand why the Met remains one of the most visited art galleries in the world today and certainly one of the highlights of the cultural side of New York.