• William Merritt Chase (American, 1849–1916). The Big Bayberry Bush (The Bayberry Bush), ca. 1895, oil on canvas, 25 1/2 x 33 1/8 in. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, N.Y., Littlejohn Collection, 1961.5.5.

    William Merritt Chase and Walter Granville-Smith: American Impressionists of the East End

    November 16, 2026–March 21, 2027

  • William Merritt Chase (American, 1849–1916). A Comfortable Corner, ca. 1888, oil on canvas, 57 x 44 ½ in. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, N.Y., Littlejohn Collection, 1961.5.21.

William Merritt Chase and Walter Granville-Smith: American Impressionists of the East End will explore the work of two American artists who found renewed creative inspiration on Long Island during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Focusing on how William Merritt Chase (American, 1849–1916) and Walter Granville-Smith (American, 1870–1938) shared interest in the region, the exhibition will present an exciting dialogue between the painters’ work. Ranging from depictions of the social atmosphere of the bourgeoisie to more intimate depictions of family life and landscapes, the exhibition explores how two painters with varied training found new inspiration on Long Island’s East End.

William Merritt Chase and Walter Granville-Smith: American Impressionists of the East End is part of the Museum’s USA250: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, a year-long program organized in response to the United States’ semiquincentennial in 2026. The USA250 exhibition series will reflect on the nation’s history and founding values, examine our present moment, and imagine new ways of moving forward, while recognizing the contributions of regional artists to the broader landscape of American art and culture. Responding to language in the Declaration of Independence that states “liberty” as one of the “unalienable rights,” William Merritt Chase and Walter Granville-Smith: American Impressionists of the East End recognizes the contributions of regional artists to the broader landscape of American art and culture.

William Merritt Chase and Walter Granville-Smith: American Impressionists of the East End is organized by Kaitlin Halloran, Associate Curator and Publications Manager.

Exhibition Support
William Merritt Chase and Walter Granville-Smith: American Impressionists of the East End is made possible, in part, thanks to the generous support of the County of Suffolk.

The Parrish Art Museum’s programs are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and by the property taxpayers from the Southampton School District and the Tuckahoe Common School District.