Rare Hassam, Jefferson letter and Sèvres porcelain offered at Potomack Auction

A recently discovered work of American Impressionist Childe Hassam (1859-1935) comes to the auction market for the first time Feb. 2 at The Potomack Company in Alexandria, Va. Hassam depicts a squatter’s shanty with old brownstones to the left, a new high rise to the right and goats in front of the shanty. The shanty could possibly be the home of “Blind Tom Foley,” whose shanty at Madison and 77th Street was documented by turn-of-the-century photographers such as Jacob Riis. “New York City Shanty” reflects a moment in time when the New York City landscape was shifting from poor abodes to towering high-rises. It was painted upon Hassam’s return from Paris in 1889 where he studied the works of French Impressionists. The work will be included in the upcoming catalogue raisonnĂ© of Hassam’s work in preparation