Chase school of art - new york school

DEFINITION

Named for William Merritt Chase, founder and teacher, the School began in 1896 in New York City as the Chase School of Art. Two years later, it was renamed the The New York School of Art. Chase taught there until 1907, and Robert Henri was on the faculty from 1902 to 1908. The impetus for Chase to start the school was his displeasure with the methods of the Art Students League where he was for many years a leading teacher. He did not like forcing students to draw first from the antique before they could use color and express their own imagination. He said: "I prefer that my pupils begin to draw from life. . . .For a youngster to go into a classroom filled with casts of the antique is as disheartening as to go to a graveyard." (Pisano 24) At the Chase School students did not have to pass admission tests, nor enter competitions, and they could begin by working directly from life and not plaster models. Sources: Judith Newton & Carol Weiss, "Skirting the Issue"; Ron Pisano, "A Leading Spirit in American Art"; Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art".