A Friendly Call

Painted in 1895 by American artist William Merritt Chase, this scene captures a quiet afternoon between two women in a sunny room. The setting is Chase's own summer studio in Shinnecock, on Long Island, where his family spent their warm months. One woman, dressed all in white and holding a parasol, is the visitor, while her hostess leans toward her to talk. It shows the kind of polite social call that filled the days of well-off families back then, nothing dramatic, just a pleasant moment between friends.

Chase was a major name in American Impressionism, and his loose, energetic brushwork shows exactly why. Light streams in through the windows and fills the space, while the walls are crowded with framed pictures, and soft pillows and a wicker chair bring warmth and color to the room. A large mirror on the right cleverly reflects the whole scene back at us, adding depth and revealing more of the studio than we would otherwise see.

The picture is a good example of how American artists borrowed European Impressionist methods and used them for everyday subjects at home. It hangs today in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Rather than carrying some big message, it simply offers a calm afternoon preserved in paint for more than a hundred years.