Art: U.S. Classicist

U. S. Classicist

The late William Merritt Chase, instructor in painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, was born in Indiana and adored Velasquez. His pointed beard and the Bohemian elegance of his clothes assisted his talent in making him the most popular teacher of his time. In the early 1900s, one of his favorite pupils was a spindly, silent young Philadelphian named Charles Sheeler. On seeing many a Sheeler sketch, the master would drop his beribboned eyeglasses and cry, "Don't touch it!", meaning that deliberation was bad for brilliance. If...

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