Lady in Black
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
74 1/4 x 36 5/16 in. (188.6 x 92.2 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Merritt Chase, 1891
Accession Number
91.11
Tags
About this artwork
William Merritt Chase painted "Lady in Black" in 1888, creating one of his most celebrated portraits. The oil on canvas measures 188.6 by 92.2 centimeters, presenting a full-length portrait of Mariette Benedict Cotton, who entered Chase's studio as an art student. The artist recalled being immediately struck by her as "a splendid model" and painted continuously until late evening. The portrait demonstrates Chase's absorption of James McNeill Whistler's influence, employing a subtly modulated pa...
About the Artist
William Merritt Chase
Prolific painter of portraits, interiors, still lifes and landscapes, famed for establishing the fresh colour and bravura technique used in much early 20th-century American painting. He was considered the most important American teacher of his time; after teaching at the Art Students League of NY he formed the Chase School of Art in 1896. Comment on works: genre, Portraits