An American Original

William Merritt Chase - Woman in White, 1910, oil on canvas, Indianapolis Museum of Art (click photo for larger image)American painter William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) settled in New York in 1878, after five years studying in Munich. He became the most important American teacher of his generation—teaching at the Art Students' League of New York and then at his own Chase School of Art, founded in 1896. The vigorous handling and fresh color characteristic of much of the best American painting of the early 20th century owes a good deal to his example. His pupils (whom he encouraged to paint in the open air) included Charles Demuth and Georgia O’Keefe. Chase was a prolific artist, with an output of more than 2000 paintings that include still lifes, portraits, interiors, and landscapes. Chase is also defined as an American Impressionist. That movement was inspired by earlier French Impressionism, but was much more structured and deliberate.