Detail View: The AMICA Library: A City Park

AMICA ID: 
AIC_.1968.88
AMICA Library Year: 
1998
Object Type: 
Paintings
Creator Name: 
Chase, William Merritt
Creator Nationality: 
North American; American
Creator Dates/Places: 
American; 1849-1916 North and Central America,North America,United Sta
Creator Name-CRT: 
William Merritt Chase
Title: 
A City Park
Title Type: 
preferred
View: 
full view
Creation Date: 
c. 1887
Creation Start Date: 
1882
Creation End Date: 
1892
Materials and Techniques: 
Oil on canvas
Creation Place: 
North and Central America,North America,United States
Dimensions: 
13 5/8 x 19 5/8 in. (34.6 x 49.9 cm)
AMICA Contributor: 
The Art Institute of Chicago
Owner Location: 
Chicago, Illinois, USA
ID Number: 
1968.88
Credit Line: 
The Art Institute of Chicago, Bequest of Dr. John J. Ireland
Inscriptions: 
Signed, lower right: "Wm M. Chase."
Rights: 
Context: 
William Merritt Chase's paintings of public parks in Brooklyn and Manhattan are intimate renditions of familiar locations that chart the artist's response to America's rapid urban growth. A City Park is an early example of Chase's park scenes and exhibits the dramatic spatial effects, high-keyed palette, and small scale that characterize these works and point to French Impressionist influences. It is probable that Chase executed his park scenes, like the French Impressionists, en plein-air. The strong light, vivid color, and fluid brushwork of A City Park suggest a spontaneous method of composition rather than a studio production. The small scale of the work also conforms to Chase's practice of painting outdoors unburdened by unnecessary or bulky materials.
Related Image Identifier Link: 
AIC_.E12935.TIF