The Back Yard, Shinnecock, Long Island, New York 1900

William Merritt Chase painted “The Back Yard, Shinnecock, Long Island, New York,” conjuring a scene of leisure and artistic exploration. Chase established an art school in Shinnecock Hills in 1891, at a time when Long Island was undergoing transformation into a summer resort destination for wealthy urbanites. Chase’s choice to depict a seemingly mundane backyard reveals a deliberate engagement with the cultural construction of leisure and the picturesque. The scene, marked by a deliberate lack of human presence, invites viewers to consider the relationship between nature, leisure, and artistic representation. "I would rather go without food than without my painting tools," Chase once said, a sentiment which underscores the intensity of his commitment to art. Chase’s painting serves as a window into the complex interplay between place, identity, and artistic vision during a period of profound social and environmental change. It invites us to reflect on the emotional and personal dimensions of our relationship with the land.