The Naive Perspective of A. Hashagen To look at the work of A. Hashagen is to encounter a specific, unvarnished slice of mid-19th-century American life. While much of the art from this period sought to mimic the formal academies of Europe, Hashagen operated within a different tradition. The artist is categorized among the American naive painters, a group whose work often bypasses academic polish in favor of a direct, almost blunt, visu…