A Summer Day
ca. 1892
16 1/8 x 20 in. (41 x 50.8 cm)
William Merritt Chase
United States
(Williamsburg, IN, 1849 - 1916, New York, NY)
Object Type:
Drawing
Medium and Support:
Pastel on canvas
Credit Line:
Gift of the Estate of Emily and James Sibley Watson
Accession Number:
1951.42
Location: Not currently on view
Painter William Merritt Chase and his family summered in a home built for them by the distinguished architect Stanford White in Shinnecock Hills. In that small community near Southampton, Long Island, Chase had established a summer school of art. Hundreds of students convened in the region from 1891 - 1902, dotting the landscape with their easels as they attempted to capture on canvas the truth of nature en plein air ("in the open air").
Typical of this period are the artist's paintings and drawings of his three young daughters exploring the landscape near their vacation retreat. High-keyed summery colors and rapid Impressionistic strokes convey the brilliance of the sky, the wildflowers and the ocean.
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