Goodwin, who did not turn to painting as a career until age thirty, was able to achieve the status as one of Boston’s finest painters. He was 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 combined with a vigorous application of paint. Goodwin led a tragic life. After a lifelong addiction to alcohol and a failed marriage, he had arranged to go to Paris to study Impressionism with his friend and colleague Louis Kronberg, when Goodwin died unexpectedly.

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 applies paint using broader strokes than his colleague. 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.

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