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Two fair-skinned women sit facing each other on a long sofa centered on the wall across from us in a room warmly lit from the right in this horizontal painting. The woman on our left wears a white full-length dress trimmed with a ruffled hem and belted at the waist. The billowing sleeves narrow below the elbow and are tucked into long, fawn-colored gloves. She wears a brimmed hat topped with dabs of white and lapis-blue paint, presumably flowers, with a sheer veil covering her face and chin. Glints of gold at her wrists might be bracelets. Her lower body faces us but her head and torso turn to her left, our right, to face her companion. She leans forward, with her left hand slightly extended, and she rests her fingertips on the cushion between them. Her other hand, closest to us, holds the camel-brown handle of a closed tea rose-pink parasol trimmed with white. To our right, the second woman sits with her knees angled to our left as she turns her head in profile, looking at her companion. She wears a floor-length butter-yellow dress with white vertical stripes. The dress has a high black collar and a black ribbon wraps around her waist and falls down the front of the dress. Her sleeves billow at the shoulder and narrow below the elbow. Her dark brown hair gathered at the top of her head. She holds a flat object in the same butter yellow in her lap that may be a matching hat. The sofa spans almost the entire width of the center of the painting. Its seat is draped in moss and emerald-green fabric and emerald green, mauve and tea rose pink, black, and gold throw pillows are scattered along its length. The lower half of the wall behind them is a tawny brown while the upper half is divided into four sections. From left to right, a coral-red and off-white wall hanging fills the left side behind the woman in white. A framed artwork and mustard-yellow fabric with daubs of white, ash grey, and black hang from it. Moving right, a column of three framed artworks hang on the wall between the women. Next is a large mirror with a gilded frame that hangs behind the woman in yellow. At the far right is another column of three framed artworks. The room behind us is reflected in the large mirror, showing an amber colored wall with large windows and more framed artworks on the opposite wall. Steps leading up to another sunlit room are also visible. A wicker chair with a pink and white pillow sits in the lower right, facing the women at an angle. The floor in front of them fills the lower third of the composition and is covered with a vanilla-yellow carpet with areas of smoke grey and brick. Two small throw pillows with tassels lie at the feet of the woman in white. The tip of her parasol points to a small emerald-green pillow with tomato-red tassels lying on the floor between the women. To our left of the woman in white is a cream-white pillow with marigold-orange tassels. The scene is loosely painted, with details only hinted at. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower left, “Wm. M. Chase. Copyright 1895.”

William Merritt Chase, A Friendly Call, 1895, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1943.1.2
Guided Tours

Canceled—Arte estadounidense en español (Spanish tour of American art)

  • Friday, May 22, 2020
  • 12:00 p.m.
  • West Building, Main Floor - Rotunda
From the series Language Tours

Esta visita guiada explora el arte estadounidense desde el siglo XVIII a principios del siglo XX y repasa momentos claves de la historia.

Marzo 27 at 12:00 p.m. (March)
Abril 24 at 12:00 p.m. (April)
Mayo 22 at 12:00 p.m. (May)
Junio 26 at 12:00 p.m. (June)

Más información acerca de su visita a la National Gallery