William Merritt Chase taught painting as a performance of technical skill. His method, shown at his Shinnecock Hills and New York schools, rested on the bravura demonstration: finishing a painting, often a still life of a fish, in a single rapid session in front of the class. He championed alla prima, wet into wet, and direct observation, sending students to paint outdoors without preliminary sketches to catch the fleeting effects of light. Chase believed in "art for art's sake," pushing students to find and make beauty in commonplace subjects through technical command. He famously fostered individuality, and his students included future modernists like Georgia O'Keeffe, Edward Hopper, and Charles Sheeler. His approach stood against his rival Robert Henri, who favoured gritty subjects and raw expression over technical polish.
Painted a complete still life or portrait in a single, rapid session in front of the class, showing technique as a live performance.
Why it matters · It took the mystery out of painting. Students watched a master build a finished work start to finish, and saw that real command buys speed and spontaneity. Painting as a confident, athletic act, not a slow, tortured one.
Bought fish from the market, painted them in one session wet into wet, and reportedly returned them before they went off.
Why it matters · His signature exercise in speed, observation, and finding beauty in the mundane. He started from silvery whites and blues, set the brightest highlight first, and worked darks and lights up together on a dark ground, teaching students to catch a fleeting effect.
At his Shinnecock Hills summer school, sent students out to paint directly from nature, dropping the preparatory drawing to catch the immediate impression of light.
Why it matters · It forced students to trust their eyes and mix colour to match what was actually in front of them. That is the core of Impressionism: not a laboured studio composition but the capture of one specific, light-filled moment.
At Shinnecock he reviewed over 200 student sketches in a single morning, set on a large two-sided easel for rapid-fire feedback.
Why it matters · This was the engine of the school's week. The sheer volume and pace taught students to work prolifically and not get precious about any one piece. A weekly reckoning built on output and direct correction.
Openly pushed students to find their own voice rather than copy his, telling them to "play with it more, be more artistic and free."
Why it matters · Unlike a rigid academy, Chase was not making disciples who painted like him. His most famous students, Hopper, O'Keeffe, Kent, went on to radically different, personal styles, which is the proof of the doctrine.
Begin painting at once on the panel or canvas with no preliminary sketch, above all for the plein-air work.
Why: The goal is to catch the fleeting impression of light and colour. A preparatory drawing fixes the composition too early and gets between you and direct observation.
Place the single most brilliant point of light on the canvas first.
Why: It sets the top of the key for the whole painting. Every other value can then be judged against that established high point, keeping the light effect coherent.
Lay fresh paint into the still-wet layers underneath, bringing darks and lights up together.
Why: Wet into wet gives soft edges, lively blending, and the speed to finish in one session. It is the method of a confident technician.
Take a subject, even a humble one like a dead fish, and render it with such skill and beauty that it becomes distinguished.
Why: This is the "art for art's sake" idea in practice. The worth is in the handling, not the subject: skill is what lifts a plain thing into something worth looking at.
Bring the painting to completion in a few hours of focused, energetic work.
Why: The painting becomes the record of a performance, a captured moment of both the subject and the act of making it. Spontaneity and command over laboured finish.
Every teacher and student below sits on the site-wide teacher-student map.
“He will get me to loosen up my blamed tight fist, and get some go into my work.”
“There was something fresh and energetic and fierce and exciting about him that made him fun.”
“Be in an absorbent frame of mind. Take the best from everything.”
“Paint the commonplace so that it will be distinguished.”
Chase taught through bravura demonstrations, painting a complete work alla prima, in one session, in front of the class. He stressed technical skill, direct observation, plein-air painting without sketches, and finding beauty in everyday subjects.
Yes. Both Georgia O'Keeffe and Edward Hopper were his students at the New York School of Art. They, along with major artists like George Bellows and Charles Sheeler, passed through his classes, though many went on to styles very different from his own.
Founded by Chase in 1891, it was one of America's first and most important schools for plein-air painting. On Long Island, students spent summers learning to paint directly from nature, a core tenet of American Impressionism.
They were rival instructors at the New York School of Art. Chase championed "art for art's sake," beauty and technical skill. Henri promoted "art for life's sake," urging students to paint gritty urban subjects. The students eventually favoured Henri, and Chase resigned in 1907.
His famous fish still lifes were a signature demonstration of his philosophy. They proved a master technician could turn a humble subject into a thing of beauty. It was a performance of speed and skill, painting them wet into wet before they could spoil.
Bravura means a style marked by great technical skill, confidence, and energy. Chase's rapid single-session demonstrations, with their fluid, visible brushwork, are the bravura style in practice.
You believe technique is a form of freedom. You love the physical act of painting: the confident mark, the wet-into-wet blend, the race to catch a fleeting effect. You think any subject can be made beautiful if you paint it well enough.
Borrow this: Buy a fish. Set it on a plate against a dark cloth. Start painting straight onto a panel, no sketch. Find the brightest, wettest highlight and put it down first. Working wet into wet, build the silvery form with speed and confidence. Finish it in two hours. Then cook the fish.
Educational reference. Artworks remain © their respective rights holders. Removal requests: daniel@methods.art.
