SPOTLIGHT: William Merritt Chase at Shinnecock

Beginning in 1891, American Impressionist William Merritt Chase summered in the Shinnecock Hills on Long Island and the area’s stunning scenery inspired him to create some of his most famous paintings. Thanks to the generosity of a private lender, the Norton will showcase a masterpiece from this landscape series. Although a number of these compositions feature Chase’s family members at leisure, this display will focus on how changing atmospheric conditions transform the land, sea, and sky. Chase’s free paint handling suggests these scenes without describing them literally and reminds the viewer of the pictures’ reality as paint on flat canvas. Despite their timeless subjects, Chase’s subjects, Chase’s Shinnecock landscapes are some of his most modern works.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.