The Banner Years (June 1969 | Volume: 20, Issue: 4)

The Banner Years

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Authors: David G. Lowe

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June 1969 | Volume 20, Issue 4


The First World War was a battle of banners, a conflict in which the French Tricolor, the British Union lack, the red, white, and blue Russian ensign, the black, red. and gold imperial German standard, and America’s own Old Glory seemed, in the eyes of all they summoned, to emblazon their nation’s righteousness.

In this whirlwind of patriotism the artists of the world were not about to be left standing in the trenches. If the Duchess of Portland could pack parcels for Queen Alexandra’s Field Force Fund and the Countess Manon von Dumreicher give 5,000 cork legs for maimed soldiers in the Austrian military hospitals, the artists certainly must do something. Very early in the war the governments of Great Britain, Canada, France, and Australia began sending famous painters to the front to cover all phases of the conflict; the list included John Singer Sargent, Sir William Orpen, Sir John Lavery, Wyndham Lewis, and Muirhead Bone.

America was late in getting into the fight: but when it did go “over there,” it went with a bellicose enthusiasm that matched that of any enemy or friend. New York City had long been a center of sympathy for the Allied cause; one of the first acts of Mayor John Purroy Mitchel in the spring of 1917 was to proclaim Fifth Avenue “The Avenue of the Allies” and to suggest that appropriate flags be displayed. The response was immediate; the next day the New York Times had no less than eight advertisements for flags. “Show your colors,” one suggested, but there was another one which would have shocked Americans of an earlier generation; it offered “Union Jacks by the yard.” For as it developed, the Mayor’s proclamation quickly led to the designation of various blocks to honor the different Allies. It is no exaggeration to say that the appearance of this international rainbow symbolized the entry of America into the great world; this massive Muttering of the banners of a dozen nations on the main street of our largest city forecast the death of American isolationism.

The artists of America were no less anxious than others to make their contribution to the war effort. In May, 1917, a huge exhibition of paintings was held in New York: they were contributed by artists and were to be sold for war relief. One of the canvases was given by Childe Hassam. It was an unmartial New England scene; but before the war was over, the conflict would provide Hassam with the finest subject of his career, ft was a subject far from the bloody trenches of France, for the United States, unlike the other Allies, did not send painters to cover the war. Hassam’s theme was New York, particularly Fifth Avenue, panoplied like a dreadnought prepared for an admiral’s review.

Childe Hassam’s New York flag paintings represent one of those fortunate meetings of talent, subject, and conviction. Born