A City Park
William Merritt Chase was one of the most influential painters at the turn of the 20th century. In this painting, which probably depicts Brooklyn’s Tompkins Park, half the canvas is filled by the wide, empty walkway. Its strong diagonal borders carry the eye into the scene. This informal piece, capturing the sparkle of a summer day, affirms the fresh perspective Chase brought to painting scenes like this one.
Colors in this work
Details
- Artist
- William Merritt Chase
- Date
- c. 1887
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 34.6 × 49.9 cm (13 5/8 × 19 5/8 in.)
- Origin
- New York City
- Department
- Arts of the Americas
- Holding institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Palette
-
Select a color to find related artworks.
- Image provider
- art-institute-chicago
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Bequest of Dr. John J. Ireland
Art Genome Taxonomy
11 tags
Subject Matter
-
Cityscapes and City Scenes Both · 99%
The image shows a landscaped public park framed by urban buildings, while the catalog identifies cityscapes and urban life as subjects.
-
Landscapes Both · 99%
Lawns, trees, planted beds, and the park setting dominate the composition; the catalog lists landscapes among the subjects.
-
Leisure Both · 98%
People are visibly strolling, sitting, and gathering in the park, and the catalog explicitly lists leisure as a subject.
Styles and Movements
-
Impressionism Both · 99%
The catalog classifies the work as Impressionism; the image shows open painterly marks, luminous color, and an informal outdoor scene consistent with that classification.
Visual Qualities
-
Emphasis on Linear Perspective Both · 98%
The path’s angled edges lead strongly from the foreground toward the center of the scene, a spatial effect also highlighted in the catalog description.
-
Bright and Vivid Colors Both · 91%
The image uses vivid greens with pink, white, and warm tan accents; the catalog describes Chase’s high-keyed palette.
Medium and Techniques
-
Oil Painting Metadata · 100%
The catalog specifies oil on canvas.
-
En plein air Metadata · 87%
The catalog states that the painting’s small scale suggests it was made outdoors with portable materials, though this is an inferred process description rather than direct documentation.
-
Large Brushstrokes/Loose Brushwork Both · 96%
Foliage, figures, and distant buildings are rendered with visibly loose, broken painterly marks, corresponding to the catalog’s description of open brushwork.
Time Periods
-
19th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog dates the painting to circa 1887, within the nineteenth century.
Geographic Regions
-
American Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog identifies William Merritt Chase as an American artist and gives New York City as the place of origin.
Source & rights
William Merritt Chase. A City Park. The Art Institute of Chicago.
High-resolution sources
- IIIF image service ↗ 1,686 × 1,169 · Art Institute Chicago · Availability not yet probed