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.)