William Merritt Chase. A Modern Master

The history of modern art owes a great debt to William Merritt Chase (1849–1916), one of America’s influential artists and educators. Chase was a leading member of the international artistic avant-garde and was best known for his mastery of a wide range of subjects in oil and pastel, including figures, landscapes, urban park scenes, interiors, and portraits. As a teacher and founder of the Shinnecock Summer School of Art and the New York School of Art, Chase mentored a new generation of modernists, including Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Joseph Stella.
A century after his death, the breadth and richness of Chase’s career are celebrated in this beautifully illustrated publication. Five essays by prominent scholars of American art offer new insights into Chase’s multi-faceted artistic practice and his position in the international cultural climate at the turn of the 20th century.
Elsa Smithgall is curator at The Phillips Collection. Erica E. Hirshler is Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Katherine M. Bourguignon is curator at the Terra Foundation for American Art. Giovanna Ginex is an independent curator for the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Venice. John Davis is executive director for Europe and global academic programs, Terra Foundation for American Art. D. Frederick Baker is director of the William Merritt Chase Catalogue Raisonné Project.