Childe Hassam's painting The Avenue in the Rain (1917). Painted in February 1917, this work may have had a specific impetus: on January 22 President Wilson had delivered his "Peace Without Victory" address, holding out the ideal of a compromise peace that would leave no residue of bitterness. In setting policy for ending the war, Wilson, the idealist, sought a “peace without victory,” while Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, the realist, demanded Germany's unconditional surrender. Hassam was a leading American Impressionist whose work was much influenced by Claude Monet. He was so passionate and interested in the war that he even entertained the idea of going to Europe to record the war, but the American government would not allow him to go. Hassam created a series of artwork of the American flag instead. Some paintings contain only one flag, others contain multitudes. His flags depict American sentiment from roughly 1917 until about 1922. This sentiment is also reflected in The Avenue in the Rain, which ultimately is not a street scene, not a painting of flags, but in essence a vibrant flag unto itself
