The artwork titled “Landscape, Shinnecock Hills” is an oil on canvas painting by the artist William Merritt Chase, created between 1898 and 1900. Reflecting the aesthetics of Impressionism, this landscape painting measures 40.64 cm in height by 50.8 cm in width and currently resides within a private collection.
The artwork captures the Rolling Hills of Shinnecock in Southampton, New York, where Chase established a summer school of art, widely known as one of the early centers for Impressionism in America. In this tranquil depiction, the artist skilfully renders the play of light across a verdant landscape. Broad brushstrokes and a vibrant palette evoke a sense of the windswept grasses and the dynamic sky, imbuing the scene with a sense of movement and an almost tactile quality. Different textures are suggested through the varied application of paint, with thicker impasto in areas like the foreground grasses juxtaposed against delicately brushed hills and sky. The artwork’s compositional focus on the natural sway of the land, devoid of human presence, reflects an intimate appreciation of the natural world. The Impressionist influence is evident in the loose brushwork and the painterly approach to capturing the fleeting effects of light and color, a characteristic feature of the movement which aimed to express an artist’s immediate impression of a scene.
