Peace, Fort Hamilton
- Date
- c.1888
- Material
- Oil on panel
- depicts
- New York, United States, North and Central America
- made in
- New York, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- American Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 10 3/16 x 15 7/8 in. (25.9 x 40.3 cm)
framed: 18 3/16 in. x 24 in. x 3 5/16 in. (46.2 x 61 x 8.4 cm) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 84:1974
NOTES
Dark, heavy cannons contrast with delicate wild flowers, a commentary on the fragile cycles of peace and war. Fort Hamilton is located in southwest Brooklyn. Built to protect the New York harbor, large cannons were added during the Civil War. When William Merritt Chase painted this scene, the location was a peaceful, park-like setting that attracted visitors to enjoy the views and cool breezes. Today, the site serves as the last active-duty military post in New York City.
Provenance
by 1895 -
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) [1]
by 1917 - 1926
Mrs. William Merritt Chase [2]
1926 -
Newhouse Galleries, New York, NY, acquired from Mrs. Chase [3]
by 1949 - 1974
William Julius Polk, St. Louis, MO, purchased from Newhouse Galleries; Mrs. Grizelda Polk Skinner, Augustus, MO, gift of Julius Polk [4]
1974 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Grizelda Polk Skinner [5]
Notes:
[1] Saint-Gaudens is listed as lender in an 1895 exhibition ["First Annual Exhibition", Cleveland Art Association, 1895, no. 193].
[2] Mrs. Chase lent this painting to an exhibition in 1917 ["Loan Exhibition of Paintings by William M. Chase", Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1917, cat. 17]. On the reverse of a photograph of the painting, dated March 25, 1925, Mrs. Chase wrote: "This was painted by my husband at Fort-Hamilton and always in the past twelve years being in our house" [inscribed photo, SLAM document files]. She may have gained possession of the painting after the death of St. Gaudens in 1907.
[3] According to a letter from Clyde Newhouse dated October 23, 1984, Newhouse Galleries acquired the painting from Mrs. Chase in 1926, and later sold it to Julius Polk [letter, SLAM document files]. We know that it left Newhouse Galleries before 1949, as a publication from that year lists the work as formerly in the collection of Newhouse Galleries ["Chase Centennial Exhibition: Commemorating the Birth of William Merritt Chase". Indianapolis, IN: John Herron Art Museum, 1949].
[4] See note [3]. Grizelda Polk Skinner was given the painting by her father Julius Polk [conversation with Grizelda Polk Skinner noted in correspondence to Newhouse Galleries, October 18, 1984, SLAM document files].
[5] Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, July 16, 1974.
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) [1]
by 1917 - 1926
Mrs. William Merritt Chase [2]
1926 -
Newhouse Galleries, New York, NY, acquired from Mrs. Chase [3]
by 1949 - 1974
William Julius Polk, St. Louis, MO, purchased from Newhouse Galleries; Mrs. Grizelda Polk Skinner, Augustus, MO, gift of Julius Polk [4]
1974 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Grizelda Polk Skinner [5]
Notes:
[1] Saint-Gaudens is listed as lender in an 1895 exhibition ["First Annual Exhibition", Cleveland Art Association, 1895, no. 193].
[2] Mrs. Chase lent this painting to an exhibition in 1917 ["Loan Exhibition of Paintings by William M. Chase", Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1917, cat. 17]. On the reverse of a photograph of the painting, dated March 25, 1925, Mrs. Chase wrote: "This was painted by my husband at Fort-Hamilton and always in the past twelve years being in our house" [inscribed photo, SLAM document files]. She may have gained possession of the painting after the death of St. Gaudens in 1907.
[3] According to a letter from Clyde Newhouse dated October 23, 1984, Newhouse Galleries acquired the painting from Mrs. Chase in 1926, and later sold it to Julius Polk [letter, SLAM document files]. We know that it left Newhouse Galleries before 1949, as a publication from that year lists the work as formerly in the collection of Newhouse Galleries ["Chase Centennial Exhibition: Commemorating the Birth of William Merritt Chase". Indianapolis, IN: John Herron Art Museum, 1949].
[4] See note [3]. Grizelda Polk Skinner was given the painting by her father Julius Polk [conversation with Grizelda Polk Skinner noted in correspondence to Newhouse Galleries, October 18, 1984, SLAM document files].
[5] Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, July 16, 1974.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.