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Dorothy (Chase)

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Dorothy
ArtistWilliam Merritt Chase
Year1902 (1902)
Typepainting on canvas
Dimensions180 cm × 91 cm (72 in × 36 in)
Location

Dorothy is an oil painting by American artist William Merritt Chase. Created in 1902, it is currently part of the permanent collection in the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Description

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The image's subject is Chase's 11-year-old daughter, Dorothy, wearing a white dress with full-length sleeves, a straw hat with a green bow, a black belt, black tights, and black shoes.[1] She is standing against a brown background without any detail, so the viewer's eye is focused only on her. Dorothy stares straight out at the viewer, engaging them. With a 6' canvas, Dorothy is reminiscent of full-length Baroque paintings of emperors, giving the young girl a grandiose image.

Historical information

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Chase's favorite subject to paint was his family, including his wife and his daughters, and his paintings of them are also his most well received.[2] Dorothy is a painting in a series of full-length portraits Chase created of his family between 1886 and 1902.[3]

Chase was the founder of the Chase School, which eventually became Parsons The New School for Design, one of the most famous art schools in the United States. As a teacher, his students include Charles Demuth and Georgia O'Keeffe.

Acquisition

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Dorothy was purchased from the artist at the Exhibition of Indiana Art in Tomlinson Hall, in 1903, using the John Herron fund.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rotunda Description of Dorothy".
  2. ^ "American Impressionism: William Merritt Chase". National Gallery of Art. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  3. ^ "Dorothy Collection Description".
  4. ^ "Provenance of Dorothy".