Childe Hassam, born Dorchester, MA - Washington at Mount Vernon (cancelled plate from the portfolio The Bicentennial - ca. 1932 - T-Shirt

This drypoint-style etching shows a quiet afternoon at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, with gentlemen at their leisure and the great brick house watching over the lawn.

Visual Elements & Composition

Cream dominates the plate, with charcoal and grey carrying the lines of the figures, trees, and architecture. A touch of sepia warms the edges. Men in long coats play bowls across the open lawn, while a figure leans on a cane nearby and a group of women in full gowns stands at the right. The colonial mansion, with its cupola and dormer windows, anchors the upper half of the scene. Two diagonal scratch lines cross the rectangular plate, and the marks "H.B." and "1912" sit among the figures.

Meaning & Symbolism

Hassam made this plate for The Bicentennial portfolio, released during the George Washington Bicentennial in 1932, at a time when the Great Depression tested the country. Rather than showing Washington in battle or in politics, the scene places him at home, a figure of the American Cincinnatus who returned to his farm after public service. It speaks to agrarian peace, civic virtue, and the value of rest after duty. Hassam, a pioneer of American Impressionism, turned to etching and lithography late in his career, and this plate reflects his commitment to preserving national heritage through graphic art.

Wearing the Bicentennial Scene

Printed across the chest, the scene reads as a single framed view, the way the plate itself was meant to be seen. The mansion and lawn sit at eye level, so the composition's stillness carries straight into everyday wear. Its cream ground and fine linework suit a tee that looks as much at home on a relaxed day as in a more formal setting.