American impressionist painters preferred to keep the urban scene at a distance. With tiny paint strokes, Childe Hassam stitched a softly shimmering colored tapestry. Swirling snow muffles traffic sounds. He gives no hint of the boisterous entertainments – boxing matches, musical performances, even circuses –staged in Madison Square Garden at 26th Street and Madison Avenue. We see only Stanford White’s minaret-like tower, modeled after the bell tower of the Cathedral of Seville, Spain. It soars 32 stories into the air, topped by Diana, a bronze by Augustus St. Gaudens. Hassam suggested the controversial nude statue with just a few squiggles of paint. He found skyscrapers “more beautiful than many of the old castles in Europe, especially if viewed in the early evening when…the city is a magical evocation of blended strength and mystery.” The frame is original to the painting.