William Merritt Chase: A Modern Master is the first retrospective exhibition on Chase in thirty years and presents the full breadth of the artist’s achievements over his four-decade-long career. Featuring more than 60 key works of art by Chase from collections in the United States and Europe, the exhibition sheds new light on the artist’s aesthetic philosophy, stylistic experimentation, and working methods. Providing a fresh reappraisal of the art of William Merritt Chase, the exhibition highlights the international context of his art and uncovers his contribution to modern art at the turn of the twentieth century. +
This examination of Chase as a renowned figure in the international art circles of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries invites viewers to reevaluate his position as an eclectic artist, influential teacher, and promoter of American art. It is also an opportunity to recognize his role as a pioneering leader in the avant-garde circles at the turn of the century and to assert his sophisticated experimentation as one of his strongest virtues.
Organized chronologically and thematically, the exhibition traces Chase’s cosmopolitan career with a special emphasis on technical mastery through a variety of subjects. Works in oil and pastel from the Terra Foundation for American Art are presented alongside full-length portraits, landscapes and interior scenes. The exhibition is a four-way partnership among the Phillips Collection, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, and the Terra Foundation for American Art and will reach broad audiences both in the United States and in Europe. It will open at the Phillips Collection, in Washington, DC, before travelling to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Ca’ Pesaro (Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia), in Venice, Italy.
Dates & Venues
June 4–September 11, 2016
The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, United States
as William Merritt Chase: A Modern Master
October 9, 2016–January 16, 2017
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
as William Merritt Chase
February 10–May 28, 2017
Cà Pesaro, Venice, Italy
as William Merritt Chase (1849–1916): A Painter between New York and Venice
Works of Art from the Terra Foundation Collection
- William Merritt Chase, Ready for a Walk, c. 1885
- William Merritt Chase, Spring Flowers (Peonies), by 1889 (exhibited in Washington, DC, and Boston, MA, only)
- William Merritt Chase, Hall at Shinnecock, 1892 (exhibited in Washington, DC, and Boston, MA, only)
- William Merritt Chase, Shinnecock Studio Interior, 1892 (exhibited in Washington, DC, and Boston, MA, only)
- William Merritt Chase, Morning at Breakwater, Shinnecock, c. 1897
- William Merritt Chase, The Olive Grove, c. 1910
Publication
Smithgall, Elsa, Erica E. Hirshler, Katherine M. Bourguignon, Giovanna Ginex, and John Davis, William Merritt Chase: A Modern Master. With a foreword by D. Frederick Baker. Washington, DC: Phillips Collection; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016.
Elsa Smithgall, “William Merritt Chase: A Modern Master,” American Art Review 28:4 (July–August, 2016): 48–55, 111.
Related Video
Exhibition co-curator Elsa Smithgall introduces William Merritt Chase: A Modern Master, on view at The Phillips Collection June 4 through September 11, 2016:
