The Chase
1903
Medium
Graphic Arts-Print
Classification
Graphic Arts-Print
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Hyde Gillette in memory of Mabel Hyde Gillette and Edwin Fraser Gillette
Accession Number
1992.13.29
Tags
Art Historical Context
**The Chase** (1903) is a delightful color woodblock print by Helen Hyde, American artist captivated by Japanese art during her travels in Asia. Created at the height of Japonisme—a Western fascination with Japanese aesthetics in the late 19th early 20th centuries—Hyde's work exemplifies the revival of traditional ukiyo-e techniques in the United States. Printed with vibrant inks on delicate paper, the medium allowed for intricate layering of colors and precise lines, evoking the flat patterns and harmonious compositions of masters like Hiroshige. The scene captures children in traditional Ja...
About the Artist
Helen Hyde · 1868–1919
Helen Hyde (1868–1919) was born in Lima, New York, and spent much of her childhood in California, where her family had relocated. She began her formal artistic training at the San Francisco School of Design and continued at the Art Students League in New York from 1888 to 1889. In 1890 she traveled to Europe, spending time in Berlin and subsequently in Paris from 1891 to 1894, where she became cap...