AMERICAN IMPRESSIONIST:

WILLIAM MERRITT CHASE

Presented By:
Benaning, Hannan Ryan B. & Domagay, Norhayanie A.
 William Merritt Chase
• Was an American painter known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. William
was born in Indiana in 1849. He went to New York in 1869, for two years he was a student at
the National Academy of Design, but he briefly moved to St. Louis where his family was
relocated.

• Chase was a multitalented artist; a man prepared (and able) to explore modern and traditional
stylistic ideas via city landscapes, studio interiors, society portraiture and still lives. He proves
to be an intuitive observer of his time and place, taking up his palette to capture impressions of
New York leisure pursuits at the turn of the nineteenth century.
 William Merritt Chase
• His city park scenes were rendered through loose brushwork and a light palette that brought
the influence of French Impressionism to the New York art scene. He gained recognition, too,
for exploring Impressionistic techniques through a revival in pastel compositions. Meanwhile,
his portraiture, and especially a series of remarkable late-career still lives, saw him draw much
more on the sombre tonalities he took from his academic training in Munich.

• In addition to his own artistic output, Chase carved out a career as one of America's most
esteemed art teachers that would see him tutor several future American greats including
Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe, Charles Sheeler, and Rockwell Kent.
 William Merritt Chase
• Chase believed in theatrical self-promotion in the need for an artist like himself to show that
he was different from the rest of society. Look closely how Chase embedded the impressionist
style in his paintings:

At the Seaside (1892) – W.M. Chase Landscape: Shinnecock, Long Island (1896) –
W.M. Chase
 (Two of) William’s Accomplishments
• Chase was a key figure in introducing French Impressionism to the American public on two
fronts. Firstly, he used Impressionist techniques to paint the leisure activities of middle-class
families who congregated in the newly designed parks of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Secondly,
he was instrumental in bringing the Impressionist paintings of Claude Manet to New York
galleries for the first time.

• Chase was an accomplished portraitist, producing paintings of family members, society

figures, and professional acquaintances such as James McNeill Whistler, whose sparse
aesthetic style often informed his own treatments.
Claude Manet - Impression, Sunrise (1872)

Claude Manet - Woman with a Parasol (1875)

Claude Manet - Water Lilies (1919)
Long before he had his own, Chase
demonstrated his skill in depicting young
children in his wonderful pastel Child
with Prints (c 1880-1884).
Chase first met his wife, Alice Bremond
Gerson (1866-1927), in 1879 when she was
only thirteen, and still known as Posey. He
married her on 8 February 1886, although
some sources claim it was 1887, when she
was nineteen and he was thirty-six.
On his way to Spain in 1885 by way of
London, Chase decided to introduce himself to
James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), whose
works he had long admired. Whistler urged
him to stay longer so they could paint portraits
of one another
 Important Art by William Merritt Chase
• The Tenth Street Studio (1880)

A plush studio is the setting for Chase's painting.

It is filled with many golden framed pictures and
luxurious objects including imported porcelains,
a lamp (hanging from the ceiling), a large gold
vase (on a shelf), and a large Oriental carpet.
Just right of center, a female model in an elegant
white dress sits in a vibrantly blue colored chair
while the artist sits to the sitter's left sketching
and his large black dog sleeps on the carpet.
 Important Art by William Merritt Chase
• The Young Orphan (1884)

It is the gaze of the young woman resting in a red

velvet chair that first grabs the attention in
Chase's painting. Wearing a long black dress, she
rests her head against the back of the chair and
looks out absently at the viewer.
Set against a red wall, in the same shade as the
chair, the only other burst of color comes from
the white tissue the young orphan clutches in her
right hand.
 Important Art by William Merritt Chase
• A Comfortable Corner (1888)

A dark-haired woman, wearing a blue kimono and

yellow sash is seated on a red couch. She is staring
out at the viewer, her left arm is draped on a blue
pillow as she holds a white fan in her right hand.
While the allure of all things Oriental was strong in
many artists of the period, Chase's love for
Japanese culture was so strong, he not only
collected many items from the country, but also
named one of his daughters Koto after one of his
favorite Japanese students.
 Important Art by William Merritt Chase
• Shinnecock: Studio Interior (1892)

A young formally dressed child wearing a pink dress

with a vivid red bow tied at her waist and red shoes
is depicted sitting on her knees on the floor of a
studio.
Behind her are a number of paintings in various
stages of completion; but it is the large book spread
out on the floor in five distinct pages that becomes
the focal point of the canvas.
 Important Art by William Merritt Chase
• Idle Hours (1894)

The title of this painting perfectly sums up the theme

depicted. Two women and two young girls are
seated relaxing in the grass while in the background
we can see a stretch of beach bordering a tranquil
blue ocean.
This painting provides an example of how Chase
used his family as subjects: his wife, Alice, two of
his daughters, and his sister-in-law.
These questions are for my beloved classmates.
Do you understand?
Do you understand? Sure?
Pwes, ‘wag na mag tanong kung gets narin
naman. Hambalusin ko kayo.
 THE END
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING
Presented By:
Benaning, Hannan Ryan B. & Domagay, Norhayanie A.