Description
William Merritt Chase’s Roland presents a smiling child in a white, frilled dress against a plain auburn-toned background. The hands come together near the front of the small figure, while the pale clothing gives the face a clear, warm setting. Little surrounding detail interrupts the encounter, allowing the child’s expression and the soft changes within the white fabric to carry the portrait.
Painted around 1902 in oil on canvas, the portrait depicts Roland Dana Chase, the artist’s youngest son. The Metropolitan Museum of Art identifies the child and records contemporary admiration for Chase’s handling of the small figure. Rather than surrounding him with elaborate narrative detail, the painting draws its interest from the relationship between a particular face, a held toy and the direct observation of childhood.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the William Merritt Chase collection.
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