Lucy & Emeline Larcom Letter to Mother (Lois Larcom) August 18, 1841 Paper, ink, wax
Lucy Larcom Manuscript Collection Marion B. Gebbie Archives & Special Collections 1974: Letters donated by Lois Larcom Horn, Class of 1928. -Podcast written and recorded by Sophie Kilcoyne, Class of 2013
William Merritt Chase Mrs. Philip Hale (Lilian Westcott Hale) 1900-1902 Oil on canvas
Gift of Marion Lewis Lothrop, Class of 1907 Permanent Collection 1975: Painting accessioned into Permanent Collection. A celebrated American artist, William Merritt Chase began painting in the late nineteenth century. Best known for his impressionistic paintings, Chase also taught other distinguished American artists, including Charles Demuth, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Charles Sheeler. Chase encouraged his students to work directly from nature, skipping preliminary sketches and painting directly onto canvas with a loaded brush. Much like Wheaton’s studio art faculty members encourage their students to find their own artistic voices, it is clear that Chase never imposed his own style on his students. Lillian Clark Westcott Hale studied with Chase and later became a successful artist known for her portraits of children and women in domestic interiors. She was married to Philip Leslie Hale, a Boston figure painter, critic, and art instructor. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hale exhibited frequently at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Annual Exhibitions and Water Colour Exhibitions at the Copley Society in Boston. Chase’s portrait of Hale depicts her holding a collection of brushes and seemingly deep in thought, perhaps contemplating one of her own paintings. The ties between the Hales and Chase demonstrate the extent of artistic community that surrounded the esteemed older artist. Today, similar interests in the arts create ties among members of the Wheaton community through such organizations as The Friends of Art and the student-run club ARTHive, and in the numerous musical and theatrical performances held on campus.
-Written by Christina Cannon, Class of 2013
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