Gathering Autumn Flowers by William Merritt Chase

A masterpiece of the artistic maturity of Chase William Merritt, this luminous open-air genre scene is titled “Gathering Autumn Flowers”. Painted in the artist’s characteristic American Impressionist style, it illustrates the late-century bourgeoisie’s leisure activities in a rustic setting. The work exudes an atmosphere of tranquility and freedom, typical of summer days spent far from urban bustle, amid the vast grassy expanses of Long Island.

In a vast wild meadow of reddish, golden, and green hues, several female figures dressed in white are elegantly scattered. In the foreground, a woman wearing a white hat sits directly on the ground next to an open sea-green parasol lying on the grass. Further away, two other silhouettes in light dresses stroll leisurely among the tall grass and dark bushes bordering the distant horizon line. Above this moor, a large, intense blue sky is dotted with fluffy white clouds that filter a brilliant, warm summer light. The panoramic composition accentuates the impression of infinite space and peaceful communion with nature.

The subtle use of oil painting allows the artist to recreate the impression of the summer breeze rustling the wild grass. Merritt’s Impressionist technique is expressed in the delicacy of the colored strokes that make light vibrate on the fabrics and vegetation.