William Merritt Chase: Self-Portrait for Richmond, Indiana, Pt. 1

"William Merritt Chase"
by John Singer Sargent

A wonderful self-portrait of William Merritt Chase hangs in the Richmond Art Museum in Richmond, Indiana. The story of this painting is a most illuminating and characteristic Chase story. It begins in this wise:

"Mr. Warner Leeds, a native of Richmond, Indiana, while traveling in Europe in 1912, met an American artist who suggested that the museum ought to have a portrait of Chase, since he was an Indiana man. Mr. Leeds agreed to donate half the price of a portrait head if the Art Association of Richmond would assume the other half. He thought $500 would be a sufficient sum to offer for it. The board accepted his offer and assigned Ella Bond Johnston the pleasant task of calling at Mr. Chase's studio to ask for the portrait.

As she explains: 'I had previously called at the Chase studio several times to secure loans of his paintings for circuit exhibitions. The first visit I made about 1906. When I went up to his studio he was standing in the open door with his big palette and maulstick looking so much like the Sargent portrait of him, which I had just seen that I could not help exclaiming, 'Oh, you do look like the portrait.' He said only 'Yes' and ushered me into the room in courtly fashion. 

Haltingly I told him I was collecting paintings for a traveling exhibit to be shown in Western cities, mainly in Indiana. At the mention of Indiana Mr. Chase's face showed a curious smile and as I enlarged on the growing interest in art in that State his smile broadened until I felt that he was inwardly scoffing at the idea, and feeling annoyed I said to him, 'Perhaps you are not interested in art as far west as Indiana.' At which he laughed outright, but quickly sobered and said, 'My dear lady, you evidently do not know that I was born and brought up in Indiana.' After this we became good friends and he let me take three of his canvases for my show and lent paintings annually thereafter.

So it was an easy and pleasant duty to call at Mr. Chase's Fourth Avenue studio to ask for a portrait, about a 16 x 20 canvas, for which we could pay $500. Of course he would do it. He was delighted. He would do several heads for he must do them anyway for his children and when I came to New York the next year I could choose the one I liked the best.'" (to be continued)

(Excerpts from "The Art Movement in Richmond, Indiana: A History" by Ella Bond Johnston. With thanks to Richmond Art Museum director, Shaun Dingwerth, for sending me a copy of this story.)

William Merritt Chase: Benefactor

"The Yellow Gown" by William Merritt Chase

"William Merritt Chase was a generous patron of the arts, buying not only the pictures of arrived artists but those of his own pupils before they had achieved recognition, thus conferring it upon them.

Chase's assistance to his pupil C. W. Hawthorne in his beginnings was of the greatest value to him. He also encouraged and helped his Philadelphia pupil, Leopold Seiffert. He had much to do with starting Schreyvogel on the path to success. During his presidency of the Society of American Artists he called the attention of the jurors to the work of this young painter, who had not previously met with recognition. The fact that Schreyvogel's pictures were not only admitted but that one of them received the prize at that exhibition made a turning point in his career.

He was also more than generous in his exchanges with other painters. Henry Poore tells of his own experience. On the opening day of Chase's exhibition at the National Arts Club Poore ran across him. After greeting his fellow artist Chase inquired, with a gesture that swept the room: 'Well, have you made your choice?' Mr. Poore, rather overcome by this generosity selected a small sketch, but Chase protested, 'I had thought you might want this,' indicating a splendid fish still life. What was more, he insisted upon presenting it.

A pupil in one of his European classes remembers how Chase once offered to exchange with a European painter who was so far removed from his class as an artist that Chase's act could only seem to the outsider a condescension. Chase selected a little sketch of this painter's in which his kindness found something to admire and gave him in return a beautiful fish picture. When the pupil protested, Chase's reply was, 'Why not? When you make a gift give your best.' There spoke the innate aristocracy of art."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: His Favorite Painters

"Memories" by William Merritt Chase

"In defining the qualities of a great work of art, William Merritt Chase said that it must contain three things: 'truth, quality and interesting treatment.' 

His own collection of pictures at one time included as many as six hundred valuable canvases, including examples of Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, Cuyp, Cluet, Corot, Vollon, Daubigny, Ribot, Manet, Roybet, Gericault, Couture, Jules Dupre, Villegas, Isabey, Jacques, Boudin, Bastien-Lepage, Georges Michel, La Touche, Fromentin, Alfred Stevens, Carolus Duran, El Greco, Ribera, Fortuny, Sorolla, Mancini, Boldini, De Nittis, Raffaeli, Martin Rico, Leibl, Von Lenbach, Ziem, Hans Makart, Brangwyn, Sargent, Whistler, La Farge, Blakelock, Duveneck, Frank Currier, William Hunt, Twachtman, George Innes, Blum, Wyatt Eaton, Gedney Bunce, Irving Wiles and F. C. Frieseke.

Among the old masters his particular favorites were Velazquez and Hals. After them he valued most, Rembrandt, Titian, Holbein, Tintoretto, De Hooghe, Vermeer, Chardin and El Greco.

Chase not only introduced America to the works of Manet, since he was instrumental in influencing Alden Weir to buy two for the Metropolitan Museum, but he had much to do with familiarizing the American public with the name of Greco. When the Metropolitan Museum was considering the purchase of the Greco 'Nativity,' Daniel Chester French sent for Chase as an expert upon Spanish art to decide whether or not the work was genuine. 

Chase was also responsible for the purchase of El Greco's 'Crucifixion' for the Wilstach Collection in Philadelphia. One day soon after this picture had been hung, Chase, who was standing before it in the gallery, was questioned by a gentleman who was also studying the canvas. 'Can you tell me,' he anxiously inquired, 'if the artist had any authority for making the figure of the Christ so emaciated? And why should a picture so unpleasant be hung upon these walls? Who is responsible for its presence here?' Chase turned upon his questioner and retorted, 'I am proud and happy to state that I am the person responsible, and would have you understand, sir, that you are standing before the work of a great master!' With these words the painter made a dramatic exit. It was an outrage that rankled in his mind for long afterward."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: A Family Man

"Shinnecock Studio Interior" by William Merritt Chase

"No man ever lived more completely in the atmosphere and idea of art than Chase did. He had no other compelling interests except his family, and, indeed, in his devotion to them art was inextricably intertwined.

At his first meeting with his wife, then a picturesque child, the strong impression she made upon his eye took the form of a desire to paint her. His children he painted almost from the moment of their birth. Art was talked in his home as it was in his studio.

Mrs.Chase never grew to dislike posing, as many members of painters' families do. Indeed, she was as frequently a volunteer as a conscript, devising costumes suitable to her type with the purpose of pleasing the painter's eye or of suggesting a subject. She says that he seldom kept her posing long enough to be fatiguing. The sureness of his seeing made the process swift.

Chase's home life was one of special harmony. He never seemed to be disturbed by the presence of his children even in his studio, perhaps because they understood so well how to keep their freedom from becoming intrusion. He was proud of them all, from the oldest son to the youngest girl, Mary Content, named for two of his pupils, and always took them to walk, all eight, every Sunday afternoon. He enjoyed nothing more than taking a cab full of children to Coney Island in the summer, where after dining them well, the distinguished artist enjoyed shooting the chutes and all the other diversions of that place.

The men who travelled in Europe with Chase tell of his constant remembrance of his family in his absences. 'We were always missing him and once almost lost our steamer because he would sit down to write to his wife at any and all spare moments,' remarked one man. He also remembers how Chase used to come into his stateroom to read him selections from the daily letters with which his wife and children had provided him, one for each day of the trip. He remembers shedding tears over the affectionate extracts that Chase read to him.

One last provision for the voyage made by Chase's wife was the indispensable white carnation which he always wore in his buttonhole. Mrs. Chase always left in the steward's care a sufficient number of these to last for the trip. One for every day!"

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase:

"Still Life with Fish" by William Merritt Chase

"In the summer of 1913 William Merritt Chase again had a class in Italy, this time in Venice. It was his last European class. The story of the summer he tells in his many letters to his wife.

One from Venice mentions a visit to Madame Fortuny [widow of Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny, who had lived and worked in Italy]. 'She is an old, well-preserved lady of seventy-three. She owns a small palace here where she has lived for a number of years. At the time of her husband's sale after his death at Paris she brought back many of his studies and many of the fine stuffs. The studio and begun pictures are splendid and the stuffs are magnificent. It was a rare treat which I am sorry you could not have enjoyed with me. She asked me to come again to see some etchings by Fortuny and some by Goya. Of course I will go. I feel a fresh spell of enthusiasm after seeing the things.'

A pupil in Chase's class who went with him to visit Madame Fortuny says that the great artist's widow had a real understanding of art and expressed a great desire to see Chase's work, but as she was old and not very strong she did not feel able to make the journey to his studio. Determined that if Madame Fortuny wanted to see his pictures, she should. He filled a gondola with his work - Venetian sketches, fish pictures and portrait heads - and gave the Spanish painter's widow a private view at her own house. Both Chase's work and the gracefulness of his act delighted Madame Fortuny inexpressibly.

Another letter concerning his unfinished picture records a typical painter state of mind at that stage of his work. 'While I don't know what it will look like tomorrow, I feel now that I've got something that you will care for. I will tell you in my next letter how I find it.' Before he concludes he acknowledges with profuse gratitude the receipt of some homemade butterscotch.

One of his greatest pleasures during those summers in Europe was the buying of presents for his wife and eight children. 'Won't Mary be lovely in that little blue coat?' he would exclaim or 'That flame-colored lining on Dorothy, eh?' and 'That blue and gold scarf will just suit Helen.' 'He bought things like a prince,' said a pupil who was with him on some of his shopping expeditions. 'Nothing was too good for them. The price was not even to be asked when he thought he had found something they would like.'"

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: Spain

"Sunny Spain" by William Merritt Chase

"The summer of 1905 William Merritt Chase had his class in Madrid. Mrs. Chase accompanied him as far as France, but was obliged to leave him to return to the children at the end of a few weeks. While in Madrid Chase stayed at the pension of Senora Carmona Dolores, who has entertained nearly all the painters who have visited Spain. Sargent always stayed there, also Whistler (her guestbook autographed with the butterfly was proof).

He found a studio for himself, a beautiful apartment in an old house. A pupil in the class that summer remembers how Chase took them all to Sorolla's house, which was filled with that painter's pictures. Sorolla was not in Madrid himself at the time, but his brother-in-law played the host in his absence.

Sunday in Madrid was a gala day for Chase. He began the day by wandering through the market, where he never failed to find treasures, always hunting for bargains. In the afternoon there was the bullfight, then in the late afternoon and evening he liked to watch the pageant of the streets from a seat at a sidewalk cafe. He delighted in picking out the Velasquez types in the crowd, finding now a dwarf, then a beggar, next an Andalusian horse, quite as if they had stepped out of a Velasquez canvas. I remember his saying that before he went to Spain he used to think those strange horses in the Velasquez pictures were a sort of artistic license, but that the very first day he went to Spain he saw one coming down the street. 

Walter Pach remembers the evening of an informal students' dance in Madrid when Chase sat with Senora Dolores, a spectator against the wall. Suddenly he jumped up, inviting the elderly Spanish lady to be his partner, and they both danced off together like the youngest people in the room, much to the delight of the students.

That was Chase's last visit to Spain. He always intended to go back, always retained his affection for the country, and often recalled the memories of his days there." 

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.) 

William Merritt Chase: Fish for Hire

"An English Cod" by William Merritt Chase

"It was in 1904 that William Merritt Chase painted his 'English Cod,' now owned by the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, and this is how that particular cod came to be painted: Passing a fishmonger's shop one day, Chase saw a large and opalescent cod lying upon a marble slab. He stood for some time gazing at it, priced it, decided that it was rather an expensive and perishable bit of still-life material and continued on his errand, but he could not forget the fish.

Its subtle color haunted his dreams and the spell of its beauty drew him back to the fishmonger's stall. He explained to the owner of the shop the nature of his interest, and suggested, since it was not his desire to dispose of the fish in the usual and permanent manner, that perhaps he might rent it for a few hours.

The fishmonger, since it was Saturday and a half-holiday, hesitated at first lest he lose the sale of his fish. After a short dicker, however, he agreed to rent the cod to the artist, and Chase went away with his prize, promising to pay for it if he kept it over the allotted time.

When the fish was not returned on time, the fishmonger sent an emissary to the painter's studio to find out what was going on. His report, whatever it was, evidently aroused curiosity, for in a little while the fishmonger himself appeared on the scene. He came in so quietly that the painter did not hear him at first. When discovered, the man replied most respectfully, 'Don't 'urry, sir; it's getting on fine.'

When the last brush stroke was planted, the painter turned to the owner of the cod, and, generous as always, suggested that he ought to buy it since the fishman might by now have lost all chance of selling his fish before Sunday. But the fishmonger, an art lover in his own fashion, said that he would take his chances and would accept nothing more than the two hours' hire for his fish!

The next year when Case was in London on his way to Spain, finding himself in the vicinity of the fishmonger's shop, went in and asked the man if he remembered him. The fishmonger replied at once, 'Oh, yes, you are the American artist who painted my cod.' "I thought you might like to hear about it,' said Chase. 'I sold that picture to a museum for four hundred pounds.'

When the generous Chase offered to give the fishmonger an honorarium on the sale, the honest Britisher flatly refused. He would not take any more of the painter's money, but would very much like a photograph of the fish picture to hang in his shop, a request which, of course, delighted the painter, who brought the photo the following summer."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: Teaching in England

Queen Alexandra's Coronation Gown
a study by Edwin Austin Abbey

"The Coronaton of King Edward VII," 15' x 9'
by Edwin Austin Abbey

In the summer of 1904 William Merritt Chase held his summer class in England. 'The centre of interest was Hampstead Heath, where the students painted daily. Chase rented a furnished studio in Chelsea for himself.

As in all the countries he visited with his pupils, he took them to the studios of the painters, an experience invaluable to his students, as aside from the interest and stimulation of coming in contact with the painters themselves, it gave them the opportunity to see their studies and half-finished pictures, an object-lesson they could have had in no other way. He escorted his entire class to the studios of Edwin Abbey, Frank Brangwyn, Alma-Tadema, Lavery, Shannon and Sargent.

One of Abbey's Shakespearian subjects was in the studio uncompleted at the time, and Chase, at Abbey's request, criticized it. Abbey was also at work upon a coronation picture for which the Queen was posing. Her gown lay upon a chair in the studio and was the cause of great excitement among the feminine pupils.

A pupil in the class that summer also recalls interesting pilgrimages to the galleries with their master, his enthusiasm over the work on his favorites and his scornful wit expended upon others, particularly the Pre-Raphaelites. He found his greatest pleasure in the National Gallery, which he used to say was probably the finest collection of pictures in the world."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: Teaching in Holland

"The Coast of Holland" by William Merritt Chase

"In the summer of 1903 William Merritt Chase went to Holland, where he held his first European summer class. His letters to his wife describe the class he taught in the city of Haarlem. On July fifth he penned a description of the Fourth of July dinner he gave to welcome his students. 'I must say the room looked very pretty. I had flowers and music, a small American flag at each place made especially at Amsterdam. They are funny looking things. I will bring one home with me for you to see. I have found a little studio and will get to work at once. Love to you my darling. Good-by until tomorrow. Will.' 

The next letter tells of cold weather, galleries visited, talks to students, the starting of a new still-life and of Whistler's death. He wrote: 'The students telegraphed to London and arranged to have a wreath placed on Whistler's coffin in the name of me and the class. Nice of them to do this, don't you think so?' And in another epistle: 'It is just two months since I left home, it seems like a year when I think of it. My pupils have about bought all that there is to be had in brass and copper here and the price has actually gone up since our arrival.'

"When he took the students to see the Mesdag collections at The Hague, he informed his wife, 'They all came away very enthusiastic. Mr. and Mrs. Mesdag showed us their studios and were most hospitable.' Josef Israels was the next painter who had to do his duty by the students. 'We found Mr. Israels a very charming little man,' penned Chase. '(He does not stand as high as my shoulder.) The students were all delighted with the man and his pictures.' 

Nothing that could contribute to the students' pleasure or store of knowledge was overlooked. One of them remembers how Chase took them all to a private house in Holland to see the family portraits, one of which was a fine example of Rembrandt. Before he left Haarlem, he showed his appreciation of the friendly spirit of the townspeople as well as his devotion to their greatest master by laying a wreath at the foot of the Hals monument in the presence of the mayor and the people of the town. 

That the people of Haarlem valued the compliment that Chase paid to the art of their country is shown by the fact that before he left a silver medal was presented to him by the burgomaster inscribed, 'Remembrance of the visit of William Chase, U.S.A., and his class to the Franz Hals Museum in Holland.'

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.) 

William Merritt Chase: Critiques

"At the Seaside" by William Merritt Chase

"William Merritt Chase had a deeply rooted hatred of conventionality. Above all things, he warned his Shinnecock students against the rut, and the danger of seeing things 'in a tiresome way.' Of himself he said: 'I have experimented always.' In order to uproot any tendency to routine in the minds of his students he held contests in which the student was advised to imagine the most unlikely seeing of his subject. To stimulate competition, Chase offered one of his own sketches as a prize for the best result.

One summer when a hectic wave of impressionism was agitating the students' colony, several canvases were brought into the Shinnecock class showing lurid patches of yellow and blue. When Chase saw them he began to hem and hum, tug at the string of his glasses, tap his stick upon the floor, and twist his moustache. Finally, with a slight frown, he turned upon the perpetrator:

'And it was as yellow as that?' he asked. 'Oh, yes, Mr. Chase. Really it was. The sun was right on it, you know, and it was very yellow.' The pupil babbled on, imagining that she was being very convincing. 'Hm,' was Chase's reply, after another glance. 'And September not here yet! Give the goldenrod a chance, madam. Give the goldenrod a chance.'

One of his suggestions helpful to the imaginative student was 'Consider nature as the painted thing.' 'Paint a tree that the birds could fly through' was another. 'Make your sky look as if we could see through it, not as if it were a flat surface,' and 'Notice how the darkest spot outdoors is lighter than the white windowsill within' - an entirely practical hint.  

One afternoon in the week Chase's studio was open to students - indeed anyone in the area - for his talks. Always all that he knew or had to give was at the disposal of the interested, whether it was a brother artist, a student, or the merest outsider.

Nineteen hundred and two was the last summer of the art school. It was never larger or more successful than in its last year and every one concerned regretted Chase's decision to give it up. During the eleven years of its existence a far-reaching influence had been set in motion, for in that time little more than a decade Shinnecock had set its impress upon the landscape art of America. The following summer Chase began to hold his summer classes in Europe."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.) 

William Merritt Chase: Teaching in Shinnecock

"The Bayberry Bush (Chase Homestead in Shinnecock Hills)
by William Merritt Chase

"In 1891 Mrs. Hoyt, an amateur artist, who had a summer home at Shinnecock Hills, urged William Merritt Chase to start a summer school there. Mrs. Henry Porter, of Pittsburgh, another summer resident, also became interested in the idea. They offered to give Chase the land upon which to build a summer home for himself and a school studio as well. Chase was delighted with the place and accepted their offer.

Students came from all over the country, and many painters, who are now well known, were among them. The school grew, enrolling some years as many as a hundred students. The school building contained a large room where criticisms were held, a studio for indoor painting on rainy days, and a supply shop for materials.

Chase gave two criticisms a week. Every Monday morning the week's work was taken to the studio and put up on a special sort of easel resembling a blackboard, which held a number of sketches at a time. After the criticism Chase remained at the studio until lunch time, so that the students could ask questions or submit for further criticism some sketch made the preceding week. He also gave a talk once a month and  painted regularly as a lesson for the class, a landscape, a head, or a bit of still life. Students were encouraged to ask questions. These were written on slips of paper and dropped in a little box. During his lectures and his weekly criticisms Chase undertook to answer all these faithfully.

On Tuesdays Chase went off with the class for the entire day, a wise arrangement, as there could be no more stimulating time to put into effect what had been learned than after one of his criticisms, for he always made the student feel that the next time he was going to do the best thing he had ever painted. The students soon discovered that if they chose a subject along the road leading from Chase's house to Southampton they were sure of an extra criticism. Chase could seldom pass a painter at work pupil or stranger, at home or abroad. Especially if the unknown artist seemed poor and uninstructed did that generous soul want to offer all he had to give, so beautiful was his feeling for the thing that the worker was struggling, however obscurely, to express."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)
 
 

William Merritt Chase: Carmencita

"Carmencita" by W.M. Chase

"Carmencita" by J.S. Sargent

"It was in the winter of 1890 that the famous Spanish dancer, Carmencita, performed in William Merritt Chase's Tenth Street Studio before the most distinguished audience in New York.

The first time that Carmencita danced in Chase's studio it was atthe instigation of Isabella Stewart Gardeiner. She had already danced for a few painters and friends of the Beckwiths in Carroll Beckwith's studio and in the same way at Sargent's studio in East Twenty-third Street. Mrs. Gardiner, hearing of this, was seized with the desire to see the famous dancer in the atmosphere and setting of a studio instead of in a public hall and expressed her wish to Sargent. Sargent's subsequent letter to Chase shows how the event came to pass.

My Dear Chase, Mrs. Jack Gardiner whom I daresay you know, writes me that she must see the Carmencita and asks me to write her to dance for her some day next week and she will come up from Boston, but my studio is impossible. The gas man tells me that he cannot bring more light into the studio than the two little jets that are there.

Would you be willing to lend your studio for the purpose and be our host for Tuesday night or Thursday of next week? We would each of us invite some friends and Mrs. Gardiner would provide the Carmencita and I the supper and whatever other expenses there might be. I only venture to propose this as I think there is some chance of your enjoying the idea and because your studio would be such a stunning place."

If you don't like the idea or if it would be a great inconvenience speak up and pardon my cheek! Send me an answer by bearer if you can, if not, to the Clarendon soon, as I must write to Mrs. Gardiner. Yours Sincerely, John Sargent

Carmencita danced twice in Chase's studio. Rosina Emmett Sherwood, a guest both evenings, thus describes Carmencita's appearance when she danced: 'Sargent and Chase made her rub the make-up off her face, and brush her frizzed hair back from her forehead, and she was very beautiful and as natural as a country girl dancing on the grass.' 

Even at this remote day the guests of the evening vividly recall it. Women tore off their jewels to throw them at her feet - although it is true that one emotional lady returned the next day to ask the painter to recover her gems! The kindly painter made an effort, but the canny dancer shrugged and snapped her fingers in true Latin fashion and replied that she hadn't the slightest intention of returning the impulsive lady's property.

One evening after the dancing, Sargent asked Carmencita to sing some Spanish songs. For a long time she refused, saying that she was a dancer, not a singer. But Sargent, who knew his Spain, kept insisting that she must know some gypsy or folk songs, and finally the dancer yielded and sang a number of songs with the wild peculiar rhythm of Spanish music, and although Carmencita, as she had said, was not a singer, the little episode made a vivid impression upon her hearers.

Chase and Sargent both painted portraits of Carmencita at this time. Chase's canvas is owned by the Metropolitan Museum and Sargent's by the Luxembourg."

To be continued

(Excerpts from Katharine Metcalf Roof's biography "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase.") 

William Merritt Chase: Eventful Years in Art and Life

"Mrs. William Merritt Chase (Alice Bremond Gerson)"
by William Merritt Chase

"1886 was the year of Chase's marriage. That circumstance which can make or mar an artist and which even in the least influential case in some way affect his development, was a fortunate one for Chase, for his wife then and always complemented his life and his art. Brought up in intimate association with art and artists, married to an artist in whom the impulse to pass on his knowledge of the beauty he had found was irresistible, Mrs. Alice Gerson Chase derived from and adapted herself to her environment, and in every way contrived to create the atmosphere of art in their home.

It was also the year of Chase's exhibition at the Boston Art Club, which was something of an event in his artistic career, since at that time the one-man exhibit so usual today was practically unknown. It was also during this year that he was again elected president of the Society of American Artists, an office held for nine years. His influence in that position cannot be overestimated.

For the first winter of their married life the Chases lived for a short time in the Tenth Street Studio apartment. Those were interesting days. The studio itself was a thing quite unique. Overcrowded though it may appear in photographs, the painters who remember it distinctly say that its whole effect was one of great beauty of tone and color. 

My own memory was of a vast darkish place containing beautiful spots of color. But the memory that remained with me was the extraordinary kindness of the painter with the Van Dyck beard in showing me his canvases as if my tastes and opinions were of real importance. 

And then in the winter of 1890 Carmencita danced in the Tenth Street Studio before the most distinguished audience in New York" - but more of that tomorrow.

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase and James McNeill Whistler, Pt. 3

Chase (on the left) and Whistler

After a volatile trip with Whistler to Holland, during which they went their separate ways, Chase was about to depart from London, when he received a letter from Whistler:

"This is a disappointment, though only a temporary one, to me most certainly so far as your portrait goes for I should have liked you to have taken it over with you and shown it on your arrival. But in these matters I never deceive myself, and I saw at one on my return from abroad that the work is not in its perfect condition, and Whistler cannot allow any canvas stamped with the butterfly to leave his studio until he is thoroughly satisfied with it himself.

Therefore, my dear Colonel, I shall keep the picture here and bring it over with me to finish in your studio where again I will prove to you that my long suffering is equal to your own as I stand in my turn till you finish... Under the circumstances I send you back the thirty pounds you had given me on your portrait - trust me it is better so - it would only make me nervous and unhappy were I to keep it before my work pleased me.

So we must reserve them, screening them from the eye of jealous mortals on both sides of the Atlantic until they burst upon the painters in the swagger of completeness. This is a disappointment, though only a temporary one, to me most certainly so far as your portrait goes for I should have liked you to have taken it over with you and shown it on your arrival."

But Whistler never managed to come, and Chase did not wait forever to show his portrait of Whistler in New York. When he did, "Whistler was enraged. In the press reviewers commented on how Chase was so good at capturing both Whistler and Whistler's style that it seemed like a send-up. Whistler caught wind of that and was extremely insulted. He called Chase's painting 'a monstrous lampoon,' and broke up the friendship. As the story goes Whistler complained about Chase for the rest of his life"* and nobody knows what happened to his portrait of Chase.

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.) 

*Quote from Erica Hirshler, art curator at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. https://www.wbur.org/news/2016/11/02/one-portrait-broke-up-whistler-chase 

William Merritt Chase and James McNeill Whistler, Pt. 2

Chase's portrait of Whistler

William Merritt Chase took his letter of introduction to James McNeill Whistler and rapped at his studio door and waited. He noted that "Most callers waited at his door in those days, and few were admitted. Suddenly the door was opened, guardedly, and a dapper little man appeared on the threshold and eyed me keenly. 'You're Chase,' said he quickly, 'are you not?' My carefully prepared words took sudden flight and left me standing in utter confusion. 'Yes,' I said guiltily. 'How did you know?' 'Oh, the boys have told me about you. Come in.' He tossed the proffered letter unopened upon a chair, linked his arm affectionately within mine, and led the way to his studio. Our camaraderie began at once.

Few hosts were ever as charming as Whistler could be; few men were as fascinating to know - for a brief time. For a week and more he was constantly a most agreeable, thoughtful, delightful companion. It had been my intention to hasten on to Madrid, but he would have none of it. 'Stay, and we'll paint portraits of each other!' As usual Whistler had his way.

'It was arranged that whichever of us was 'specially in the mood' was to paint while the other posed,' Whistler, I speedily found, was always 'specially in the mood,' and as a consequence I began posing at once and continued to pose. He proved to be a veritable tyrant, painting every day on into the twilight, while my limbs ached with weariness and my head swam dizzily. When the portrait was almost finished he stood off and admired his work. 'Beautiful!' he exclaimed. 'Beautiful!'

Then it was Chase's turn. He started by laying in the whole atmospheric envelope, then literally drawing out significant masses and spots with a paint rag, gradually refining the masses and drawing as he painted. He wrote Alice Gerson: 'I'm getting on well with my portrait of Whistler which promises to be the best thing I've done. He is almost finished with my portrait. I will bring both portraits home with me.' Chase insisted upon taking his portrait of Whistler back to America with him, wisely foreseeing that if he did not do so he might never regain possession of it, but he was never able to get hold of his own. 

To be continued

(Excerpts from Katharine Metcalf Roof's biography "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase.) 

 

William Merritt Chase & James McNeill Whistler, Pt. 1

"Whistler Monocle, Left Eye, Head Tilted"
by Mortimer Menpes

"William Merritt Chase had been given a letter of introduction to James Abbott McNeill Whistler, and their rocky relationship was about to begin, for there were two distinct sides to this famous artist, each one of which he made famous. He succeeded as few ever have in creating two distinct and striking personalities, almost as unlike as the storied Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One was Whistler in public - the fop, the cynic, the brilliant, flippant, vain, and careless idler."

"He had prepared his outward blandishments with the skill and patience of an accomplished actor. For hour he had stood before a mirror, with curling irons in hand, training carefully his hair, in particular that famous white lock, fussing and primping like a woman. He was putting on his mask. Very few who knew him only in public ever saw behind it."

"The other was Whistler of the studio - the earnest, tireless, sombre worker, a very slave to his art, a bitter foe to all pretense and sham, an embodiment of simplicity almost to the point of diffidence, an incarnation of earnestness and sincerity of purpose."

"The real, genuine Whistler had been at work since early morning, working like a fiend - and, in truth, looking like a fiend as he worked. The monocle of the night before had been laid aside for an unsightly pair of iron spectacles, so heavy that they were clumsily wrapped with cloth where they rested on his nose. His hair was uncombed. He was carelessly dressed."

"Some student admirers from Venice called at the studio one day and found the real Whistler at work. They had seen him previously on the piazza, carefully groomed for the occasion. Now they stood speechless with surprise. At length their spokesman exclaimed artlessly, 'Why, Mr. Whistler, whatever has happened to you!' 'What do you mean?' he demanded. 'You - you seem so different,' said the young man. 'Oh,' said Whistler, 'I leave all gimcracks outside the door.'"

gim·crack
ˈjimˌkrak/
adjective
adjective: gimcrack
    1.    1. 
flimsy or poorly made but deceptively attractive.





To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.) 

 

William Merritt Chase: Europe Revisited

"Portrait of a Spanish Girl"
by William Merritt Chase

"1881 was the year of William Merritt Chase's first return trip to Europe. He took passage on the 'Belgenland' with Carroll Beckwith, Robert Blum, Herbert Denman, A.A. Anderson and a decorator named Lawrence. A few days out, Chase, very much bored with the enforced inactivity, proposed decorating the ladies' cabin, dragging his fellow painters into the project. The captain was delighted at having his ship decorated by modern masters. The cabin became a showroom while the pictures were allowed to remain, but not long afterward the panels were cut out and, it is said, were set up in the home of one of the owners of the line.

Chase spent most of his time in Spain that summer, but stopped for a short time in Paris, where he chanced to meet J. Alden Weir. Weir had gone over to purchase pictures for a wealthy New Yorker without any recompense save the collector's promise that the pictures should afterward be presented or left to the Metropolitan Museum. As soon as Chase heard his friend's errand, he exclaimed: 'Come with me right away to Durand-Ruel's. They have two wonderful Manets there. You must have them.' Weir went with Chase at once, and that is how the Metropolitan Museum came into possession of the 'Boy with the Sword' and the 'Girl with the Parrot.'

It was during this trip to Paris that Chase met the Belgian artist Alfred Stevens, whose art he admired so profoundly. Stevens gave the highest praise to Chase's beautiful portrait of Duveneck in the Salon, but he made a comment that proved to be a turning-point in Chase's art development: 'But why do you try to make your canvases look as if they had been painted by the old masters?' From that hour, Chase says, he sought to express his own individuality in his art.

Chase does not seem to have painted much upon this trip, although his study of Velasquez in the museum and the closer contact with Spanish art possible in the country had a very direct influence upon his painting. It seemed also to give added inspiration to his teaching. After his return to The League, his invigorating influence showed good results, his class that year did especially strong work."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: The Tile Club

"The Tile Club at Work" by Charles Stanley Reinhart

"Soon after William Merritt Chase's return to America the Tile Club asked him to become a member. This famous club, which lasted for about eight years, was originally limited to twelve members and was composed of some of the most distinguished artists in America, including such well-known artists as Winslow Homer, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Edwin Austin Abbey, J. Alden Weir, and John H. Twachtman.

Meetings were held once a week. A different member furnished the tiles and the supper, and afterward became the owner of the baked and decorated tiles produced that evening. Pipes, beer and cheese usually constituted the evening's entertainment - and sometimes such delicacies as sardines were also offered.

It was the custom of the Tile Club to take a pleasure journey en masse each summer. One year it was a canal-boat trip up the Hudson River and through the Erie Canal. A suitable boat was found for seven dollars a week, partitions knocked out to make one large salon which was decorated with Chase's Tenth Street Studio trappings, including tiger skins. They sailed away toward evening, the musical members playing and singing, banner flying, Japanese lanterns lit as the Gerson girls waved farewell.

As they drifted up the Hudson, some set up their easels and umbrellas and sketched while others watched and criticized. They sang, told stories, talked about the passing scenery and art, enjoyed the fine cooking of Chase's manservant Daniel, laid in hammocks and smoked. When the party reached the Erie Canal, their mules decorated with Spanish bridles, their Japanese lanterns and Oriental hangings created great excitement among the populace. When the excited children on the banks became too vociferous, Laffan, by previous arrangement with the willing Twachtman, ran out upon the deck crying, 'Run for your lives, The Twachtman is loose!' at which Twachtman uttered frightful groans and rattled an old piece of chain he had found in the hold."

To the painters recently returned from Europe the Tile Club furnished the artistic atmosphere to which they had grown accustomed in Munich and Paris, and of which they felt the lack in America. It remains to this day to the men who were part of it a light-hearted memory of happy comradeship."

To be continued

For more on The Tile Club, see: https://viewer.joomag.com/the-tile-club-camaraderie-and-american-plein-air-painting-the-tile-club/0176846001519407571?short&

(Excerpts are from Katharine Metcalf Roof's biography "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase.")

William Merritt Chase: A Permanent Relationship

"Alice Gerson Chase" by W. M. Chase

"Mr. Gerson, who managed a successful New York lithography firm, was a delightful and witty person with much esprit. He had three attractive daughters and a musically talented son, and was intelligently interested in art in general, and to his home came many of the young artists of the day. The painters spent many pleasant evenings at the Gerson home. The young people amused themselves by making silhouettes of each other, sometimes the painters drew fantastic pictures in their cigar ashes on sheets of paper. Sometimes they went in groups to the theatre.

"Ready for the Ride" by Chase

When the Gerson girls saw Chase's picture 'Ready for the Ride,' at the National Academy, they felt a great desire to meet the talented young painter. At first he declined the invitations of his brother artists to accompany them to the Gerson home, but finally went, and there saw for the first time his future wife, a small, dark, picturesque young girl who looked like a child. That evening, before he left, he asked the eldest sister if Miss Alice (known to her family and intimates as 'Toady') would pose for him.

From the first, William Chase was a hero to young Alice Gerson. All three of the girls used to go to Chase's studio in Tenth Street, often taking their needlework with them. Sometimes they posed, sometimes the oldest sister or brother would play on a little organ there. Frequently, their father went with them. Chase soon grew to feel that he belonged to the Gerson family. 

When Chase's mother and sisters visited, he invited the Gersons to dine with them. All through the six years of association preceding his marriage Chase's friendship and affection for them grew, and to the last his wife's family were to him as his own. Finally in 1887 Alice and William were married."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: Artistic Awakening in New York

"The Tenth Street Studio," 1880, by William Merritt Chase

"When William Merritt Chase returned to America in 1878, the hour had struck for the passing of the old, and the coming of the new art. The canvases of the younger men exhibited at the academy, which would have been ignored and laughed at in the zenith of the Hudson River School, came now at the psychological moment when the time was ripe for their recognition and influence.

The art exhibition of the Philadelphia Centennial in 1876, had given American artists a new outlook. The Barbizon painters were quite generally known now, although America had not yet heard the name of Manet. The young men who had been sending their pictures home to the academy were beginning to return from Paris and Munich; prosperity followed the Civil War, and change was in the air.

The preceding year the Society of American Artists had been organized. The Art Students' League was then in Fourteenth Street. The Metropolitan Museum had just moved into its new quarters of the edge of Central Park; in short, the new life had begun.

The presence of the young American painter in a Munich student's hat, accompanied by a picturesque hound or two, did not cause much comment. Yet Chase was a natural creator of bizarre effects. When his servant, Daniel, wearing a red fez, stood outside the entrance of the Tenth Street Studio, and the Russian hound gambolled about the street, and two brilliant-hued macaws and a white cockatoo perched upon the iron railing of the building, the resulting effect was certainly unusual.

Chase accomplished his dream when he acquired his Tenth Street Studio. It was the first real studio building in New York. He first occupied a small studio, but later managed to secure a large room. It was described as 'the sanctum sanctorum of the aesthetic fraternity, affording midst painting, statuary, music, flowers, and flamingoes [stuffed]...never to be forgotten by charmed participants."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: A Riotous Farewell

"William Merritt Chase," 1877, by Frank Duveneck

"The money Frank Duveneck had earned from his portrait commission carried the three painters back from Venice to Munich, where William Merritt Chase prepared for his trip to New York to teach at the Art League. But first he was treated to a magnificent farewell celebration at Polling by Duveneck and his students, the Duveneck Boys. 

At Polling the students worked in a deserted monastery for which they paid a small rent, using the monks' cells for studios and utilizing the picturesquely costumed peasants for models. The lower part of the monastery had been turned into a stable, and they also painted the cattle and sheep. Certain red tape had to be gone through in arranging the farewell festivity. Permission had to be obtained from the Mayor of Weilheim, the town to be passed through, before the merrymakers could proceed on their way.

The students had built a sort of throne covered with draperies, rugs, skins, and brass plates and placed it on an ox-cart. A large caricature of Chase was placed above the seat he was to occupy. White Bavarian oxen harnessed with quaint picturesque brass bands across their foreheads were decorated with garlands. On the back of the cart was a keg of beer from which the guest of honor as well as his entertainers refreshed themselves.

When Chase descended from the train at Weilheim, he was overwhelmed by a shrieking mob of friends and lifted to the throne. Then to the accompaniment of Tyrolese mountain horns and copper kitchen-ware beaten with a spoon, a veritable pandemonium, they drew the cart up to the door of an inn where the festivities continued until a late hour. The night was described in an American paper at the time as 'pleasantly spent in mirth and song.' A piece of parchment covered with seals, coins and ribbons containing the names of the men who were present at that celebration hung for many years in Chase's Tenth Street studio in New York."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: Sojourn in Venice

"Venice," 1877
by William Merritt Chase

"In 1877 Chase went from Munich to Venice, where he spent about nine months in company with Frank Duveneck and John Twachtman. The three painters lived together in the simplest and most economical fashion. Indeed their stay was prolonged to a greater length than they had originally intended because they lacked the funds necessary for the act of departure. But that time was one full of interest, and as they painted outdoors together the art of the associated painters grew steadily stronger and more individual.

A Mrs. Bronson proved a good friend to the young men and it was through her kind offices that they were eventually helped out of their financial embarrassment. Reduced to absolute penury they lived almost exclusively upon beans, and at the eleventh hour help came when Mrs. Bronson secured a portrait order for Duveneck. 

Duveneck was never more excited in his life when he was offered the commission and was still further overcome at the excellent price offered. 'For at that moment,' the artist said, 'if he had but known it, he could have had it for five dollars!'

In Venice Chase did a number of still-life studies. One included his monkey Jocko, whom he had saved him from a group of Spanish sailors. Chase had taken the monkey back to his studio, arranged an Italian canopied bed for his new pet and fed him generously. Jocko had many adventures and mishaps, and sadly died after eating a handful of matches.

"Still Life with Monkey" by W.M. Chase

While in Venice, Chase received an offer from the newly founded Art League in New York to teach. It is amusing to realize now, familiar as we are with Chase's extraordinary career as a teacher, that he had grave doubts of his ability to teach and, had it not been for Duveneck's urging him to try it, would probably not have accepted the offer which had such important consequences."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Art and Life of William Merritt Chase by Katherine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: American Student in Munich, Pt. 3

"The Turkish Page (Unexpected Intrusion)
by William Merritt Chase

"The Turkish Page" by Frank Duveneck

"William Merritt Chase had a studio of his own in Munich, and it was in this studio that he and Frank Duveneck painted at the same time "The Turkish Page," and also his portrait of Duveneck called "The Smoker," done in 1875. Even in those days Chase had begun collecting beautiful art objects and furniture. It was through one of his purchases that this fine portrait of Duveneck, which was afterward unfortunately destroyed by fire, was painted. Chase had bought an old chair that had fascinated him. He exhibited it upon its arrival to Duveneck with his enthusiasm. 'Just look at it, man! Isn't it a wonderful thing, a beautiful thing?'

And feeling that he must paint it at once, he commanded his friend: 'Here, sit down there a minute, I want to see how it looks.' Duveneck sat carelessly on the arm of the chair, his long pipe in his hand. Liking the way it looked, Chase set to work at once to paint it. 'The chair, of course,' Duveneck explained. 'I was of no importance, merely an accessory.' So that is how the portrait, which received honorable mention at the Salon in 1881 and in Munich in 1883, came to be painted.

Chase left his mark upon student life in Munich. It was he who inaugurated the custom of having a student dinner about every two weeks, when photographs of old and modern masters were hung upon the walls, and one of the students chosen to talk about the art and work of the painter. The American Art Club in Munich was the outgrowth of these meetings. At one Thanksgiving dinner, Mark Twain, who was passing through at the time, was a guest.

Chase won a number of medals during his years in Munich and his position as a brilliant young painter became fully established. Before he left he was invited to become an instructor at the academy, an honor he deeply appreciated but declined. To this day he is well known and honorably remembered in the Bavarian city." 

To be continued

(Excerpts from"The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by  Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: American Student in Munich, Pt. 2

Detail of "Portrait of a Man"
by William Merritt Chase

"Frank Duveneck, who was in Munich when William Merritt Chase arrived, but who went away for a time shortly afterward, recalls the swiftness of the young man's progress, for when Chase entered the art school he went into the antique class like any beginner, but when Duveneck returned a few months later, the young American student had become a celebrity. Indeed, Chase and J. Frank Currier were then considered the most talented of the Munich students. 

Walter Shirlaw, Chase's roommate, was another American student whose gifts had received recognition. Duveneck had already made his mark. His criticism was of great value to Chase. Julius Rolshoven recalls that Duveneck, Shirlaw, and Chase were nicknamed 'the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost' by the other students.

Chase almost immediately attracted the attention of his master, Piloty. Discussion concerning the old and new ideas of art were rife in those days. One had an amusing result. Chase had been insisting that the exact reproduction of nature had nothing in common with art. Another student challenged Chase with the remark that whether art or not, such painting represented skill of a sort, and that Chase himself was doubtless unable to paint an object so that it would deceive anyone. As a result of this friendly contention the student agreed that if Chase could perform the feat, he would give all the students a dinner. Chase accepted the challenge.

The next day when the professor arrived to criticize his pupils, he turned to hang his hat on its usual peg on the wall. The hat before the eyes of the waiting class fell to the ground. The professor picked it up and tried again, thinking he had missed the nail, but again his hat fell to the floor. When the same thing had happened a third time, the old German looked intently at the wall, then without a change of expression laid his hat upon a chair and began his criticism.

After his departure the class gathered to examine the highly successful imitation of a nail painted upon the wall by William Chase in place of the real peg of which he had painstakingly removed all traces. That night the students enjoyed an excellent dinner at their favorite restaurant!"

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by  Katherine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: American Student in Munich, Pt. 1

"Meditation" by William Merritt Chase

"William Merritt Chase reached Munich at the time when new ideas were germinating. He entered the Munich Royal Academy and was also a student in the studio of Karl von Piloty, a painter of vast canvases, historical in subject, who was then believed to be a great master. But, although he studied with Piloty and Kaulbach, it was William Leibl who influenced Chase and the other impressionable young students in the seventies. 

That, as has been said, was at the beginning of the migration of American art students to Germany. American portrait painters had gone to Europe to study from the days of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Benjamin West, but to England, not to the Continent. Before the Civil War, Italy was the Mecca of sculptors and artists. Romantic creations in marble as well as copies of Madonnas and Magdalenes were brought home in those days, and accorded a respect which real art fails to inspire today.

Doctor Charles Miller, a National Academician who had gone to Munich in 1867, was practically the first American painter to go to Munich, He returned to America in 1870, the year that Frank Duveneck arrived at the Bavarian city. C. S. Reinhart, a Pennsylvania painter and illustrator, went there about the same time.

After the Franco-Prussian War a number of American art students went to Paris and Munich, but the Munich influence seems to have been felt in American art a little before the French school made its impression. There were about forty American students in Munich at the time Chase went there, but soon the number was increased to seventy, Frederick Dielman and William Chase registered at the Royal Academy the same day." 

To be continued

(Excerpts are from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase" by Katharine Metcalf Roof.)

William Merritt Chase: Studies in New York

"In the Studio" by William Merritt Chase

"Upon reaching New York, William Merritt Chase made his way at once to the studio of J. O. Eaton. Eaton was just about to sail for Europe when the young man arrived. He declined at first to have anything to do with his prospective pupil, but when he saw the boy's work, he gave him the key to his studio and told him to go in and use it until he came back, so young Chase took possession of the place. He also worked in the classes of the Academy of Design. For almost two years he studied with Eaton, taking a studio of his own in the Young Men's Christian Association building.

Studio life at that period was just beginning. The studio with a skylight was practically unknown. The painters and students had rooms if possible with a north light, but frequently without. Models were almost unattainable in those days. Usually the janitor of the building, or one of the children of the laundress, was pressed into service.

After about two years in New York, he returned to his family's new home in St. Louis. He said that the evening of his arrival his father asked him to walk downtown with him. As they walked along the street his father hailed a friend: 'Judge Brown, I want you to meet my son the artist.' Chase never forgot the thrill he felt at those words.

In St. Louis he shared the studio of James William Pattison. It was there that he saw the canvases of one John Mulvaney, who had studied in Munich. They had something that the art he had previously known did not have, and an idea took possession of him - the pilgrimage to Europe. He had attracted the attention with his work of some generous men of means, who raised a sufficient sum of money among them to send the boy to Europe to study. In return the young man was to paint a picture for each patron at the conclusion of his period of study, a condition of course gladly carried out. Destiny had carried Chase to Munich, and there his real art life may be said to have begun."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase.)