| William Merritt Chase |
Article Index for William |
Website Links For William Merritt |
Information AboutWilliam Merritt Chase |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT WILLIAM MERRITT CHASE | |
| 1849 births | |
| 1916 deaths | |
| american painters | |
| impressionist painters | |
| people from indiana | |
|
William Merritt Chase ( November 1 , 1849 – October 25 , 1916 ) was an American Painter known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. EARLY LIFE AND TRAINING He was born in Williamsburg (now Nineveh), Indiana , to the family of a local merchant. Chase's father moved the family to Indianapolis in 1861 and employed his son as a salesman in the family business. Chase showed an early interest in art, and studied under local, self-taught artists Barton S. Hays and Jacob Cox. After a brief stint in the Navy, Chase's teachers urged him to travel to New York to further his artistic training. He arrived in New York in 1869, met and studied with Joseph Oriel Eaton for a short time, then enrolled in the National Academy Of Design under Lemuel Wilmarth , a student of the famous French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme . In 1870 declining family fortunes forced Chase to leave New York for St. Louis, Missouri , where his family was then based. While he worked to help support his family he became active in the St. Louis art community, winning prizes for his paintings at a local exhibition. He also exhibited his first painting at the National Academy in 1871. Chase's talent elicited the interest of wealthy St. Louis collectors who arranged for him to visit Europe for two years, in exchange for paintings and Chase's help in securing European art for their collections. In Europe Chase settled at the Academy Of Fine Arts, Munich , a long-standing center of art training that was attracting increasing numbers of Americans. He studied under Alexander Von Wagner and Karl Von Piloty , and befriended American artists Walter Shirlaw and Frank Duveneck . In Munich, Chase employed his rapidly burgeoning talent most often in figurative works that he painted in the loosely-brushed style popular with his instructors. One of these, a portrait titled ''"Keying Up" – The Court Jester'' (now in the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy Of The Fine Arts ) won a medal at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 and gained Chase his first fame. Chase traveled to , Arthur Quartley and Augustus Saint Gaudens . CHASE'S ROLES: FATHER, ARTIST, TEACHER Chase cultivated multiple personnae: sophisticated cosmopolitan, devoted family man, and esteemed teacher. Chase married Alice Gerson in 1886 and together they raised eight children during Chase's most energetic artistic period. In New York City, however, Chase became known for a flamboyance that he flaunted in his dress, his manners, and most of all in his studio. At Tenth Street, Chase had moved into Albert Bierstadt 's old studio and had decorated it as an extension of his own art. Chase filled the studio with lavish furniture, decorative objects, stuffed birds, oriental carpets, and exotic musical instruments. The studio served as a focal point for the sophisticated and fashionable members of the New York City art world of the late 19th century. By 1895 the cost of maintaining the studio, in addition to his other residences, forced Chase to close it and auction the contents. In addition to his painting, Chase actively developed an interest in teaching. On the urging of a patron, Chase opened the Shinnecock Hills Summer School on eastern Long Island, New York in 1891 and taught there until 1902. Chase adopted the Plein Air method of painting, and often taught his students in outdoor classes. He also opened the Chase School Of Art in 1896, which became the New York School Of Art two years later with Chase staying on as instructor until 1907. Chase taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1896 to 1909; the Art Students League from 1878 to 1896 and again from 1907 to 1911; and the Brooklyn Art Association in 1887 and from 1891 to 1896. Along with Robert Henri , who became a rival instructor, Chase was the most important teacher of American artists around the turn of the 20th century. Beyond his instruction of east coast artists, he had an important role in influencing California art at the turn of the century, especially in interactions with Arthur Frank Mathews , Xavier Martinez and Percy Gray . PORTRAIT PAINTING Chased worked in all media. He was most fluent in , the children playing on the floor. LANDSCAPES |
|
|