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.)