Self-Portrait

1915

William Merritt Chase

Associated Names
William Merritt Chase

Painter, American, 1849 - 1916

This painting depicts a man from the waist up, facing us. He has light skin with a curled white mustache and pointed beard, and gray, wavy hair. Glasses rest on his nose, attached to a long black string that appears to be tucked into his vest. The right half of his face is in shadow. He is wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and a white flower pinned to his lapel. The background is dark, and the edges of his body and clothes blur into it. The painting style is loose, with visible brushstrokes.

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Possibly the artist's student, Annie Traquair Lang [1885-1918].[1] (William Macbeth, Inc., New York); purchased November 1923 by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; acquired 2014 by the National Gallery of Art.
[1] The inscription on the painting reads: "To my friend Annie T. Lang / Wm. M. Chase. / 1915.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1917

  • Possibly [Paintings by William Merritt Chase owned by Annie Traquair Lang], M. Knoedler and Co., New York, 1917.[1]

1934

  • Biennial International Exposition of Art, Venice, 1934.

1939

  • National Academy of Design Special Exhibition, American Fine Arts Society Galleries, New York, May-June 1939.

1948

  • William M. Chase, 1849-1916, A Selected Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, American British Art Center, New York, 9 November - 4 December 1948, no. 10.

1957

  • William Merritt Chase, 1849-1916, A Retrospective Exhibition, Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, Long Island, 30 June - 27 July 1957, repro.

1959

  • [Chase retrospective], Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, Long Island, 29 June - 27 July 1959.

1961

  • Directions in Twentieth Century American Paintings, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, 7 October - 12 November 1961.

1962

  • From the Archives of American Art: The Role of the Macbeth Gallery, AFA Gallery, New York; Tampa Art Institute; Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City; Flint Institute of Arts; Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina; Portland Museum of Art, Maine; Albany Institute of History and Art, 8 October 1962 - 31 May 1963, no. 4.

1976

  • William Merritt Chase, M. Knoedler and Co., New York, 4 May - 5 June 1976.

1983

  • Sargent's Contemporaries, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 4 June - 28 August 1983, unpublished checklist, no. 6.

1985

  • Henri's Circle, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 20 April - 16 June 1985, unnumbered checklist.

Bibliography

1949

  • Peat, Wilbur D. "Checklist of Known Work by William M. Chase." In Chase Centennial Exhibition. Exh. cat. John Herron Art Institute, 1949: unpaginated.

2006

  • Pisano, Ronald G. The Complete Catalogue of Known and Documented Work by William Merritt Chase (1849-1916), vol. 2. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2007, p. 266, no. OP.566.

2011

  • Cash, Sarah, ed. Corcoran Gallery of Art: American Paintings to 1945. Washington, 2011: 292, repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: To my friend Annie T. Lang / Wm M. Chase. / 1915.

Wikidata ID

Q46633393

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