William Merritt Chase

The Artist’s Mother, Sarah Swaim Chase, 1892

oil on canvas

20 x 16 in.

Gift of Mrs. Carrie Chase Roberts

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William Merritt Chase was born in Ninevah, Indiana and studied under Barton Hayes in Indianapolis and then briefly at the National Academy of Design.  Due to the interest and generosity of several art patrons, Chase was able to take a five-year trip to Munich, where he studied at the city’s Royal Academy.  In 1878, Chase returned to New York City, opened his Tenth Street Studio and developed his signature impressionist style.  He was a member of America’s influential group of impressionists known as The Ten, but was also an extremely influential teacher.  Chase opened the first summer school of landscape painting at his summer home in Shinnecock, Long Island.  He also taught at the Chase School in New York, which he founded, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  His students included such famous artists as Marsden Hartley, Charles Demuth, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe and Charles Sheeler.

Chase’s mother was the first guest in his newly acquired summer residence at Shinnecock, Long Island, New York, and the subject of the first portrait he painted in his new studio.  Sarah Chase said she intently watched the progress of her portrait, noting a spot on the top of her head the painter had overlooked.  To remedy the problem Chase bought his mother a lace cap which he added to the portrait.  The lace cap does more than cover a spot in the painting; its delicate texture and protruding bow soften the sitter’s features and echo the animated brushstrokes of her hands.

Reference

Ronald G. Pisano.  William Merritt Chase: The Complete Catalogue of Known and Documents Work by William Merritt Chase (1849-1916), Vol. 2: Portraits in Oil, New Haven Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2007.  ISBN-13: 978-0300110210