- In this dramatically simplified vista, Hoosier native William Merritt Chase captures the vast emptiness of rolling coastal dunes under an endless blue sky that fills half the canvas. He believed that as a landscape painter “You must be right out under the sky,” and he often led his students in outdoor painting demonstrations.
- During the 1890s, Chase spent summers teaching at the famous Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art on Long Island. The first touches of autumn appearing on the sandy landscape, no longer populated by his family or students, suggest the end of another season and Chase’s imminent return to city life.
(Macbeth Galleries, New York, New York) {1}. Peter Reilly, Indianapolis, Indiana; by descent to his son, Peter C. Reilly and Dr. Jeanette P. Reilly, Indianapolis, Indiana; given to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1997.
{1} Verso label: Macbeth Galleries | 15 East 57th St. | by Hayes Storage.