Hall at Shinnecock, William Merrit Chase, pastel on canvas, 32 x 41″ (82 x 104 cm); in the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The image on the page linked above is in a small slideshow, larger image here.
In 1891 American painter William Merritt Chase moved to the Shinnecock hills on Long Island, where he established the Shinnecock Summer School of Art and taught for more than 10 years. Here he gives us a view of the inside of his home with his family.
I love the fact that pastel can be used as both a drawing and painting medium. I would certainly call this a painting, but elements of it — like the stand for the ornate vase — have the quick gestural qulity of drawing.
In the mirrored door of the cabinet at the rear of the room, we can see a reflection of the artist at work.
I find it difficult to think that the red orange glow of the passageway above the cabinet and behind the other vase is either painted that color or made so by the sun. It seems to me purely a choice by the artist to enhance his composition.
