Mrs. William Merritt Chase c. 1890

William Merritt Chase painted this portrait of his wife sometime in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Chase was committed to the fashionable style of tonalism, which favored muted colors and celebrated the aesthetic quality of painting itself. Chase came from a middle-class background and became one of the most influential art instructors in the United States. He taught at the Art Students League of New York, as well as his own Chase School of Art, which became the Parsons School of Design. His portraits often depicted members of his own family and offer insight into the domestic lives of upper-middle-class Americans. To understand Chase’s work and the changing place of art in the United States, it is important to consider how institutions like art schools and museums shape artistic production and audience expectations. By consulting exhibition catalogs, art journals, and other period sources, we can begin to appreciate the significance of Chase’s aesthetic choices in relation to the artistic debates of his time.