George A. Lucas, Baltimore, Maryland and Paris, France
Jesse Kaufman, Baltimore, Maryland, by 1951 (acquired from the above)
By descent to the present owner

(possibly) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, First Annual Exhibition, November 1896–January 1897, no. 129
(possibly) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Catalogue of the Sixty-Sixth Annual Exhibition, December 1896–February 1897, no. 140

Please contact the American Art department for this condition report: (212) 606 7280 or americanart@laitexier.com
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The Lady with Yellow Roses is a compelling representation of Childe Hassam’s impressionist portraiture. Hassam was at the height of his powers as an Impressionist by the 1890s, upon which time he had returned home to the United States and painted the present work. During his trips to Paris in the previous decade, Hassam fully embraced Impressionist techniques, aesthetics and subjects. Though he studied at the Académie Julian under such influential instructors as Gustave Boulanger and Jules-Joseph Lefebvre, Hassam found the academic experience stifling. Instead, he largely worked independently, absorbing his most important aesthetic lessons on his own. His art soon evolved away from the dark tonalist character of his earlier Boston pictures, dramatically shifting towards the high-keyed palette, bright light and fragmented brushwork that animates works such as The Lady with Yellow Roses.

Hassam portrays his subject with striking intimacy and immediacy in The Lady with Yellow Roses. The central figure exudes feminine grace as Hassam delicately articulates her features and her form under the diaphanous folds of her dress. This execution contrasts dynamically with elements of the composition such as the vase of roses and the dress itself, which display the artist’s distinctive staccato brushwork. The brilliant highlights of white, yellow and rose not only contribute to a rich and varied surface, but also create a sense of movement, suggesting the play of changing light and shadow on the surface of her form.