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The fluid brush and broken color, as well as the birds-eye view perspective, all indicate Goodwin's debt to Impressionism.

The subject refers to one of the many parades held to raise funds for America's war efforts.

This canvas is a view of Arlington Street as it borders Boston Gardens Park.

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Arthur Clifton Goodwin

Liberty Loan Parade, 1918

oil on canvas

29 1/8 x 35 5/16 in.

Martha Delzell Memorial Fund

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Goodwin, who did not turn to painting as a career until age 30, eventually was regarded as one of Boston’s best painters. Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1864 and raised in Chelsea, Massachusetts, this self-taught artist became America’s last important impressionist painter. He is known primarily for his landscapes and cityscapes in and around Boston and New York City. Goodwin would set up his easel amidst the bustle of the city and capture its moods in the morning mist, bright sunlight, dense fog and falling snow. His paintings consist of bright, broken colors vigorously applied to the canvas. Goodwin led a tragic life, suffering from a lifelong addiction to alcohol and unhappy after a failed marriage. At the age of 65, he arranged to go to Paris to study Impressionism with his friend and colleague Louis Kronberg, but then died unexpectedly. His death ended a career that had resulted in many poetic and sensitive cityscapes.

Liberty Loan Parade was painted from a Boston studio at the southwest corner of Newberry and Arlington Streets, across from the Public Garden. The stretcher states: “Victory loan parade of troops after First World War, coming through Arlington Street toward Boyleston Street with Public Gardens to the right. This picture was sold at auction to raise money for bonds.” The painting is reminiscent of Childe Hassam’s flag series, but Goodwin applied paint using broader strokes than his colleague did. Goodwin’s fluid brush and broken color, as well as his bird’s-eye-view perspective, all indicate his debt to Impressionism. The subject, however, is clearly American, referring to one of the many such parades held throughout the country to raise funds to support the United States efforts in World War I.

Reference

Regina Eliot-Ramsey. A. C. Goodwin: Impressionist Cityscapes. Boston: Copley Fine Art Press, 1999. ASIN: B0006FBPTY