Adelaide Cole Chase (

Boston, MA Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 1868–1944, Gloucester, MA) was an American painter of portraits and still lifes. She was a member of the Art Students' Association.

Biography

Born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, she was a daughter of J. Foxcroft Cole, the landscape painter, and of Irma de Pelgrom, a Belgian pianist. Chase traveled extensively with her parents in Europe and the American West as a young girl. At the age of 10, she posed for

Winslow Homer Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters of 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...

, who was a good friend of her father. Her first instruction in drawing and painting was from her father. As a girl she had the advantage of the instruction of

Frederic Porter Vinton Frederic Porter Vinton (January 29, 1846 – May 19, 1911), sometimes spelled Frederick, was an American painter. Life He was born in Bangor, Maine. He grew up in Chicago, and moved to Boston in 1861 For twenty years he worked as a bookke ...

. Chase studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts under

Edmund C. Tarbell Edmund Charles Tarbell (April 26, 1862August 1, 1938) was an American Impressionist painter. A member of the Ten American Painters, his work hangs in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Smithsoni ...

and

Frank Weston Benson Frank Weston Benson, frequently referred to as Frank W. Benson, (March 24, 1862 – November 15, 1951) was an American artist from Salem, Massachusetts, known for his Realism (arts), Realistic portraits, American Impressionism, American Impressi ...

, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

under

Jean-Paul Laurens Jean-Paul Laurens (; 28 March 1838 – 23 March 1921) was a romanticism French painter and sculptor, and he is one of the last major exponents of the French Academic style. Biography Laurens was born in Fourquevaux and was a pupil of Léon ...

and

Carolus-Duran Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917), was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of Upper class, high society in French Third Republic, Third Rep ...

. Professionally, she has had an almost exclusive interest in the painting of portraits. Twenty-five examples of her portrait work were exhibited in the spring of 1901 at Doll & Richards's in Boston, and these gave the impression of accomplished technical work and a refined and distinguished style. Chase has also exhibited at the Society of American Artists. Among those whose portraits she has painted are Helen F. Smith, Dean of Wells College, and Madam Chase (a charming portrait of old age). She was equally successful with portraits of children, young people, and those of older years, and with sitters of either sex. Her manner was firm and direct, and her portraits have the artistic value of being interesting apart from the personality of the subject. A portrait called a "Woman with a Muff," exhibited at the exhibition of the Society of American Artists, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, was praised. At the 1904 exhibition of the Philadelphia Academy, Chase exhibited a portrait of children, Constance and Gordon Worcester, of which Arthur Hoeber wrote: "She has painted them easily, with deftness and feeling, and apparently caught their character and the delicacy of infancy." She also won silver medals at the

St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mill ...

in 1904 and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 1915. In 1960, she became an associate member of the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

. She married William Chester Chase, an architect of Boston in 1892.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Adelaide Cole Painters from Boston American portrait painters American women painters 1868 births 1944 deaths