Summer at Shinnecock Hills 1891

Curator: Here we have William Merritt Chase's "Summer at Shinnecock Hills," painted in 1891. The landscape practically shimmers with light. What’s your take? Editor: Well, immediately I’m hit with a sense of lazy summer days, that amber light warming everything. It feels nostalgic, like a half-remembered dream. The scale is grand, yet intimate. Curator: Chase was a leading figure in American Impressionism, heavily influenced by his time in Europe. He aimed to capture the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere en plein air. It became an exercise that spoke of leisure for upper middle class Americans. Editor: It’s the color palette that gets me – the blend of ochre, greens, with hints of blues is superb. You can almost smell the salt in the air and feel the gentle breeze. The woman, barely present as a subject and dressed in full clothing, really intrigues me as an addendum. Curator: Yes, the placement of the figure within the vast landscape reflects both the period’s obsession with the relationship of nature, beauty, and fashion. But the open spaces in paintings like these served a socio-political role in shaping our cultural understanding of America, particularly landscapes of leisure, a topic to be explored in our lecture in the east hall on Sunday. Editor: True, but I get more of an emotional response! It’s evocative – and almost like the memory of a landscape, painted in brushstrokes of pure feeling rather than precise representation. Does this summer exist somewhere still, undisturbed? Curator: Chase also established the Shinnecock Summer School of Art, the first outdoor art school in America, attracting many female students, so in viewing this through today’s lenses, this may speak of those socio-historical underpinnings that had once excluded women from the professional art world. Editor: Absolutely, a perfect example of summer captured! For me, it echoes even today - with all of its quiet charm, a great way to wrap up our summer program. Curator: Indeed. It reminds us of the evolving role of museums in society. Thank you.