GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The oldest child of William Merritt Chase and Alice Gerson Chase, Alice Dieudonnée Chase (1887-1971) was a frequent model for her father. According to family tradition, Chase exclaimed, "Doesn't she look cozy?" one day when he saw the infant lying in the corner of a sofa. The nickname stuck within the family and "Cosy" became the subject of over a dozen portraits that trace her journey from infancy to adulthood. This example depicts her as a pensive adolescent.
When asked the reason for his frequent use of his daughter as a subject, the artist claimed, "Why? I don't know. She very much resembles her mother." In other respects, Cosy resembled her father; trained by him as a painter, she exhibited still lifes and landscapes in New York in the 1940s.
Adapted from
William Keyse Rudolph, DMA label text, 2006.
NOTES
Created c. 1899
In 2007 WKR changed c. 1899 to c.1897---did not see it changed back, but this is how it is in Brain
EAS- edited provenance, added fun fact, adjusted label language to allow a better correlation between assigned date and label copy that refers to age. Plus, this allows us to more confidently assign a geography rather than letting the artist's frequent travels prevent this work from appearing on future mapping functions. Corrected circa search dates in TMS. Added tags: smock, adolescence, sitting, gaze.
Object File Reviewed
Checked Piction—only audio asset that might apply is too much about other people and not even specific to this work (about loans)
TMS done
Extensive biography—did not have time to record here
Curatorial Remarks: Chase's portraits convey his mastery of drawing and sensitivity to color and mood. A gifted teacher and aesthete, Chase often painted his wife and daughters in exotic costume and poses, although he was capable of quieter, more intimate portraits, as here in ""Dieudonnee"". Alice Dieudonnee Chase, also known as Cosy, was born in 1887. The DMA canvas, depicting Alice when she was perhaps 11 or 12 years old, is one of 13 known images reresenting Alice from a newborn to a handsome, dignified young woman. Chase's eldest daughter wears the patient expression of a favorite model already accustomed to sitting for her father's brush.
William Merritt Chase was born and raised in a small town outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. As a boy he displayed a special talent for drawing portraits; consequently, his parents allowed him to study for two years with a local artist, Benjamin F. Hayes, and in 1869 sent him to the National Academy of Design in New York. In 1872 Chase left for Munich which at that time was a major center of study for American artists. He studied at the Royal Academy and was greatly influenced by Wilhelm Liebl, a German artist who executed still lifes in a free and painterly manner. In Germany Chase was exposed to the somber realism of the Munich School which had its origins in 17th century Dutch and Spanish painting and whose style consisted of dark tonalities, strong contrasts in lighting and broad vigorous brushtrokes. Chase shared a studio with Frank Duveneck, another American studying in Munich, and the two, along with John Twachtman, traveled to Venice in 1877. Owing to the influence of Tintoretto, Chase's Venice landscape sketches are lighter and have a more luminous quality than his Munich work.
Chase returned to America in 1877 and decided to dedicate himself to teaching. He taught at the Art Student's League in New York, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Academy of Brooklyn and later at the academy which he founded and named The New York Chase School of Art. Chase's canvases have been termed ""painter's paintings"", and by this is meant they are concerned with the technical virtuosity of the art and so make an especially strong appeal to other artists. Chase taught his ""art for art's sake"" approach to his American students, and many of his pupils, including Alfred Maurer, Robert Henri, George Bellows, John Sloan, Marsden Hartley, Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, Charles Demuth and Georgia O'Keeffe, are among those who shaped the path of 20th century painting.
Although Chase remained a realist throughout his career, his style did vary. He traveled to Europe several times in the 1880's meeting Whistler and coming in contact with the Impressionists, and this influence led to Chase's lighter palette and Impressionistic style of the 1890's. In 1895-1896 Chase lived in Spain, and his intense studies of the work of Velasquez prompted him to adopt an even more freer manner which is marked by an extensive use of highlighting.
The D.M.F.A. painting by Chase, ""Dieudonnee"" , is an example of his mature style in which loose, bold brushwork defines form. He excuted the work after his trip to Spain in c 1899, and the influence of Velasquez is evident. As can be seen in this portrait, Chase had a special talent for utilizing the medium of oil paint; he took every advantage of the flexibility the medium offers the artist. The painting is a portrait of the artist's elder daughter, Alice (Cozy) Chase, and its title, ""Dieudonnee"", which in French means heaven sent, is an appropriate reference to his first born offspring for who he had a special affection.
P.F.R.
Geography listed as Spain---two DMA texts refer to his being in Spain in 1895-96 or c. 1899.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Spain (nation): TGN: 1000095
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until d.1916: William Merritt Chase (1849-1916)
1916-1917: Estate of William Merritt Chase
n.d.: Leroy Ireland (1889-1970), purchased from the above
From 1922: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association Purchase [1, 2]
[1] Purchased from the Third Annual Exhibition by the Dallas Art Association but seller name could not be verified with resources available in the Collections Records Object File.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- William Merritt Chase, Biography~Learn more about William Merritt Chase on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.
- The Tradition of Teaching (Antiques & Fine Art)~Read Monica Zimmerman's concise history of the instructors, students, and national impact of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (written in conjunction with an exhibition of the same title held at PAFA, 2008).
- Indianapolis Museum of Art~Check out this portrait by William Merritt Chase of his third daughter, Dorothy Brémond Chase.
- North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh~View another painting of Alice Dieudonée Chase by her father from around the same time period.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- Alice's middle name, Dieudonnée, is a French name meaning "Gift of God," and is usually associated with men, though in this case it reflects her father's deep affection for his first-born.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1922.2
Category
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General Description
The oldest child of William Merritt Chase and Alice Gerson Chase, Alice Dieudonnée Chase (1887-1971) was a frequent model for her father. According to family tradition, Chase exclaimed, "Doesn't she look cozy?" one day when he saw the infant lying in the corner of a sofa. The nickname stuck within the family and "Cosy" became the subject of over a dozen portraits that trace her journey from infancy to adulthood. This example depicts her as a pensive adolescent.
When asked the reason for his frequent use of his daughter as a subject, the artist claimed, "Why? I don't know. She very much resembles her mother." In other respects, Cosy resembled her father; trained by him as a painter, she exhibited still lifes and landscapes in New York in the 1940s.
Adapted from
William Keyse Rudolph, DMA label text, 2006.
Fun Facts
- Alice's middle name, Dieudonnée, is a French name meaning "Gift of God," and is usually associated with men, though in this case it reflects her father's deep affection for his first-born.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- William Merritt Chase, Biography~Learn more about William Merritt Chase on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.
- The Tradition of Teaching (Antiques & Fine Art)~Read Monica Zimmerman's concise history of the instructors, students, and national impact of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (written in conjunction with an exhibition of the same title held at PAFA, 2008).
- Indianapolis Museum of Art~Check out this portrait by William Merritt Chase of his third daughter, Dorothy Brémond Chase.
- North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh~View another painting of Alice Dieudonée Chase by her father from around the same time period.
Notes
Created c. 1899
In 2007 WKR changed c. 1899 to c.1897---did not see it changed back, but this is how it is in Brain
EAS- edited provenance, added fun fact, adjusted label language to allow a better correlation between assigned date and label copy that refers to age. Plus, this allows us to more confidently assign a geography rather than letting the artist's frequent travels prevent this work from appearing on future mapping functions. Corrected circa search dates in TMS. Added tags: smock, adolescence, sitting, gaze.
Object File Reviewed
Checked Piction—only audio asset that might apply is too much about other people and not even specific to this work (about loans)
TMS done
Extensive biography—did not have time to record here
Curatorial Remarks: Chase's portraits convey his mastery of drawing and sensitivity to color and mood. A gifted teacher and aesthete, Chase often painted his wife and daughters in exotic costume and poses, although he was capable of quieter, more intimate portraits, as here in ""Dieudonnee"". Alice Dieudonnee Chase, also known as Cosy, was born in 1887. The DMA canvas, depicting Alice when she was perhaps 11 or 12 years old, is one of 13 known images reresenting Alice from a newborn to a handsome, dignified young woman. Chase's eldest daughter wears the patient expression of a favorite model already accustomed to sitting for her father's brush.
William Merritt Chase was born and raised in a small town outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. As a boy he displayed a special talent for drawing portraits; consequently, his parents allowed him to study for two years with a local artist, Benjamin F. Hayes, and in 1869 sent him to the National Academy of Design in New York. In 1872 Chase left for Munich which at that time was a major center of study for American artists. He studied at the Royal Academy and was greatly influenced by Wilhelm Liebl, a German artist who executed still lifes in a free and painterly manner. In Germany Chase was exposed to the somber realism of the Munich School which had its origins in 17th century Dutch and Spanish painting and whose style consisted of dark tonalities, strong contrasts in lighting and broad vigorous brushtrokes. Chase shared a studio with Frank Duveneck, another American studying in Munich, and the two, along with John Twachtman, traveled to Venice in 1877. Owing to the influence of Tintoretto, Chase's Venice landscape sketches are lighter and have a more luminous quality than his Munich work.
Chase returned to America in 1877 and decided to dedicate himself to teaching. He taught at the Art Student's League in New York, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Academy of Brooklyn and later at the academy which he founded and named The New York Chase School of Art. Chase's canvases have been termed ""painter's paintings"", and by this is meant they are concerned with the technical virtuosity of the art and so make an especially strong appeal to other artists. Chase taught his ""art for art's sake"" approach to his American students, and many of his pupils, including Alfred Maurer, Robert Henri, George Bellows, John Sloan, Marsden Hartley, Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, Charles Demuth and Georgia O'Keeffe, are among those who shaped the path of 20th century painting.
Although Chase remained a realist throughout his career, his style did vary. He traveled to Europe several times in the 1880's meeting Whistler and coming in contact with the Impressionists, and this influence led to Chase's lighter palette and Impressionistic style of the 1890's. In 1895-1896 Chase lived in Spain, and his intense studies of the work of Velasquez prompted him to adopt an even more freer manner which is marked by an extensive use of highlighting.
The D.M.F.A. painting by Chase, ""Dieudonnee"" , is an example of his mature style in which loose, bold brushwork defines form. He excuted the work after his trip to Spain in c 1899, and the influence of Velasquez is evident. As can be seen in this portrait, Chase had a special talent for utilizing the medium of oil paint; he took every advantage of the flexibility the medium offers the artist. The painting is a portrait of the artist's elder daughter, Alice (Cozy) Chase, and its title, ""Dieudonnee"", which in French means heaven sent, is an appropriate reference to his first born offspring for who he had a special affection.
P.F.R.
Geography listed as Spain---two DMA texts refer to his being in Spain in 1895-96 or c. 1899.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Spain (nation): TGN: 1000095
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until d.1916: William Merritt Chase (1849-1916)
1916-1917: Estate of William Merritt Chase
n.d.: Leroy Ireland (1889-1970), purchased from the above
From 1922: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association Purchase [1, 2]
[1] Purchased from the Third Annual Exhibition by the Dallas Art Association but seller name could not be verified with resources available in the Collections Records Object File.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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1922.2
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object_notes_1_b-0254.xml.nores