Stroling through the American gallery at the Indianapolis Museum of Art the other day I came across this wonderful painting by William Merritt Chase. That it portrays his take on the Shinnecock area only added to my interest, since I seem to recall Shinnecock being a fairly well-known name around this site. This image, of course, doesn't come close to the vibrancy and feeling of the original, but I thought everyone might like to see it.
First Touch of Autumn
Artist: William Merritt Chase
1897-1899
Gift of Peter C. Reilly and Dr. Jeanette P. Reilly
"The artist captures the low and rolling, flat terrain of the Shinnecock countryside, with its occasional tree, sand dunes, and dwarfed bushes.
Chase established America's first summer school of art at Shinnecock Hills, Long Island, where he painted some of his most Impressionist landscapes."