William Merritt Chase (American, 1849–1916), Gathering Wild Flowers, ca. 1895. Oil on canvas, 16 × 24 in. (40.64 × 60.96 cm). Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. George M. Chester, Mr. and Mrs. William M. Chester, Jr., Mr. John Chapman Chester, and Mr. and Mrs. Verne R. Read. M1991.307.
This is a painting of William Merritt Chase’s daughters picking wildflowers in a field outside their Long Island home. Here, the artist embraced certain Impressionist techniques, visible in the delicate, feathery brushwork and use of color to create a play of light and indicate the endless sky. This painting is one in a series that Chase executed while teaching at Shinnecock Hills Summer School on eastern Long Island. A celebrated portrait painter, Chase was also a dedicated art teacher. On the urging of one of his patrons, he opened Shinnecock in 1891 and taught there until 1902; there he adopted the method of painting directly from nature and held his classes outdoors.
Website label, July 2016. Written by Brandon Ruud, Abert Family Curator of American Art.
