View of the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Description

March 28 2009
From 1886 to 1890 Chase executed many small paintings of New York City’s harbors and parks, like this tiny panoramic View of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This view, taken from across the East River, captures some of the Yard’s more industrial aspects; smokestacks and ship’s masts in the distance are a reminder that this is where merchant vessels were manufactured. But the Navy Yard was also where the admiralty and officers were housed, and it contained pleasure grounds that were open to the public. Chase painted many views of it, including leisure scenes from within its precincts. All were made to appeal to a domestic art market that was rejecting European painters and subjects in favor of ones that celebrated American life. This sort of cultural pride was also felt by the artist, who stated: “There are charming bits in Central Park and Prospect Park, Brooklyn.…Along the docks and wharves there is every bit as good material as that on the banks of the Thames which the English artists have made immortal.” Chase’s vibrant paintings of these subjects won him critical acclaim and were very popular with the burgeoning middle class. They are often regarded as the first significant studies of the American landscape using Impressionist techniques, which may be seen here in the bright palette, finely modulated colors, soft transient atmospheric effects, and lively brushwork.