William M. Chase, N. A.  1902

William Merritt Chase (1849–1916) was a leading art teacher (primarily in New York) and an admirer of Sargent’s work. A group of his students commissioned this portrait, intending to give it to the Metropolitan in his honor. Painted in Sargent’s London studio, it shows Chase in what he called his “old blue studio coat,” which Sargent insisted he wear instead of the frock c...