Artist William
Merritt Chase
William Merritt Chase was born on November
1st, 1849 in Nineveh, Indiana. After
joining and leaving the Navy in 1869,
he decided to leave Indiana and head
off to New York to study art. While
there, he studied at The National Academy
of Design. In 1870 he left New York
to help support his family in St. Louis,
he worked as a still-life painter and
started to make a name for himself.
The wealthy art collectors in St. Louis
decided they wanted to expand his talent
in Europe and they sponsored a 5 year
stay in Munich in return for paintings.
Chase returned back to the United States
in 1878 and opened a studio in New York
City.
He was
a member of the Tilers, a group of artists
including Winslow Homer, J. Alden Weir
and Arthur Quartley. He often painted
portraits of his family, his wife Alice
and his 8 children.
In 1882, Chase helped found the Society
of American Painters in Pastel and created
an extraordinary body of work in this
medium. From 189l to 1902, he conducted
classes in the open-air at Shinnecock
Hills, Long Island, and it was during
this period that some of his most celebrated
works were painted, such as "The
Fairy Tale," 1892 (Collection of
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz) and
"The Friendly Call," 1895
(National Gallery of Art, Washington,
D.C.)
Aside from painting
portraits, William Merritt Chase also
liked to paint landscapes. New York
City parks and was often the subject
for those landscapes, he used vibrant
colors. William Chase enjoyed using
oil paints to paint these paintings,
he also used watercolors, pastels and
etchings. His studio was filled with
still lifes, portraits, landscapes,
and cityscapes.
The portrait of "Lady in Black"
is a perfect example of William Merritt
Chase's style. It currently hangs in
the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The
brush strokes, although wide, don't
hide the intricate details of the woman's
face. It's a piece that leaves the viewer
wanting more, and often left me wondering
what the "Lady in Black" was
thinking about.
Chase,
who spent his summers in Shinnecock,
would often use this setting as a subject
"The Chase Homestead at Shinnecock"
is a perfect example of his landscape
technique.
William Merritt Chase was also famous
for his teaching and artistic training.
He had a strong following of young students
in New York City and was a founding
member of The Society of American Artists
and in 1880 was elected president. Chase
died on October 25, 1916 in New York
City.
Chase's students numbered in the thousands;
among the better known were Gifford
Beal, Guy Pene du Bois, Charles Demuth,
Marsden Hartley, Edward Hopper, Alfred Maurer,
Kenneth Hayes Miller, Georgia O'Keeffe
and Charles Sheeler.
William Merrit Chase's current popularity
has been very evident over the last
twenty-five years. All major auction
houses around the world such as Southeby's
and Christie's have seen the prices
of Chase's work increase drastically.
His continuing popularity and the scarceness
of his works has allowed prices to increase
significantly. For optimum value, when
buying or selling, one should research
his best years of painting.
