October 1893

William Merritt Chase made this oil on canvas, titled "October," sometime in his career. Look closely and you will see it is a seemingly simple landscape, but it’s also an orchestration of brushstrokes, a record of the artist's hand. Chase was working at a time when painting was becoming less about representation, and more about the qualities of the medium itself. Notice the texture, the way the paint sits on the canvas, thick in some places and thin in others. It’s not just a picture of a field; it’s a celebration of the viscous, malleable quality of oil paint. Consider, too, the labor involved. Chase spent hours, perhaps days, applying these strokes, building up the image layer by layer. In a way, the painting is a testament to the value of skilled work, of taking the time to master a craft. Appreciating the skill and the material allows us to fully understand its meaning.