Shinnecock Landscape 1895

Editor: So, this is William Merritt Chase's "Shinnecock Landscape" from 1895, done in oil, and it looks like it was painted *en plein air.* I'm immediately drawn to the road; it looks worn and sandy. What's your read on it? Curator: The road immediately makes me think about infrastructure and the labor involved in creating and maintaining it. Notice the uneven surface. This isn’t just a scenic route; it’s a testament to human effort to shape the landscape, probably built by local workers using readily available materials. What materials do you think make up that road, and how did they impact the landscape? Editor: Probably just the sand and dirt from the area. How does that contrast with the Impressionistic style; usually Impressionism feels more focused on capturing light, but this is grounded in the materiality of the area? Curator: Exactly. Consider how the "Shinnecock Landscape" embodies class and industry. Chase created an Art Village where his students paid for summer courses. The rise of this landscape as a popular subject is deeply connected to middle- and upper-class leisure. Who owned that land? Who labored on it? How was the Shinnecock tribe impacted? Editor: That reframes my view of this considerably. So it is both documenting an accessible, real space, but maybe a space being created for certain people. Curator: Yes. Even the act of painting *en plein air*— hauling materials, setting up an easel—speaks to a certain privilege, doesn't it? This method itself had material requirements in paint and tools and time to engage in the craft. How do you think it informed Chase’s and his students’ perceptions of the Shinnecock landscape? Editor: I guess I hadn't thought about landscape painting in terms of the resources involved, but now the work feels more about a relationship between people, resources, and land. Curator: Precisely. By looking at the material conditions of the work’s production and the depicted scene, we can see a rich and complex tapestry of social relations embedded within.