The Service Flag: Three From This House in the War

Childe Hassam's pen sketch depicts a Colonial-era house draped in ivy, its windows and facade rendered in loose, energetic cross-hatching. The composition captures a moment of domestic patriotism during World War I, when American families displayed service flags in their windows—each star representing a family member in military service. Hassam's gestural linework conveys both architectural specificity and emotional immediacy, transforming a modest house into a symbol of national sacrifice. The inscription references three family members serving abroad, making this intimate domestic scene a record of the war's reach into American homes.