Shinnecock Hills, Summer 1895

William Merritt Chase made this landscape painting, Shinnecock Hills, Summer, with oil on canvas. Oil paint is an interesting material: on the one hand, it allows for the creation of very convincing illusions. Yet it never quite loses its material presence, its texture, and its weight. Chase was part of a generation of painters who were fascinated by the direct application of paint. You can see that he really loaded his brush, and applied the strokes rapidly. This gives the picture its vibrancy. It’s also worth remembering that the Shinnecock Hills, on Long Island, became a popular summer destination in this period. So, painting was not just a question of aesthetic contemplation; it was also a means of marketing the area, of getting wealthy people to come and spend their money in new resort communities. The making of this painting, then, is inseparable from the making of a modern economy.