Already during his lifetime William Merritt Chase was considered "the American impressionist". He grew up as the eldest of 6 children in Williamsburg. In 1817 he began his education as a painter. Already at the beginning of his career there were several exhibitions of his paintings, even in the National Academy of Arts in Washington.
Then he made a European trip financed by local patrons, which began with a study in Munich. He also spent a lot of time in Venice. In 1878 he returned to New York.
Back in America, he taught at various schools. Soon he was one of the most influential art teachers in the US. His last lesson was a summer course in California in 1914.
Chase was a family man. With his wife Alice Gerson, whom he married in 1886, he had eight children. He regularly portrayed his wife and children.
The artist spent a lot of time in his studio, which became a city-known meeting place for fashion-conscious members of the New York art scene. He had taken over this studio from the painter
Albert Bierstadt and designed it as a gallery for his own pictures. Chase decorated it with valuable furniture, decorated it with stuffed birds, rare and exotic musical instruments and oriental rugs. In 1895, however, he had to close the studio again, since the cost of maintenance were too high.
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