Former Chase Home In Shinnecock Hills Enters Market For $4.25 Million

For some, the “art scene” on the South Fork began after World War II when Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and other members of the New York School migrated east. However, a house that is certainly not new but new to the market attests that there was an active art community in the 1800s. It was centered in Shinnecock Hills and led by one of the most famous artists of his era, William Merritt Chase, who among other accomplishments founded the Parsons School of Design.

First the house. Within its 4,347 square feet are 6 bedrooms and 5.5 baths, and the entire property is 2.11 acres. The ask is $4.25 million, and it is represented by Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The historical significance of it is although built for a physician, it was one of three “proper homes” in what was called the Art Village. It was there that Mr. Chase opened the Shinnecock Hills Summer School in 1891.

About Mr. Chase. He was first invited to the South Fork by Mrs. Janet Hoyt, an art patron. He had been born in 1849 in Ninevah, Indiana. (Coincidentally, there is the Ninevah neighborhood in Sag Harbor.) After serving in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Chase took his burgeoning artistic talents to New York City and studied there. From there, he spent time in St. Louis, then like many young men of the time with similar ambitions, Mr. Chase went off to Europe. It was there that he began to make enough of a reputation for himself that when he returned to America, he was viewed as an accomplished artist.

In the States, and especially at the Shinnecock Hills Summer School, he promoted the plein air method of painting, often teaching students outdoors. Mr. Chase taught at the school until 1902. He also helped found the New York School of Art and was considered one of the most influential teachers of the time. His students included George Bellows, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, and Georgia O’Keefe.

The house presently for sale in the Art Village was expanded in the 1970s and the property now contains a heated swimming pool and a basketball court. However, remaining are such details as the original soldier cross and herring bone floors, moldings, and chestnut paneling in the great room. And gazing out the windows on a lovely day, one can picture Mr. Chase and his students painting out on the well-manicured lawn.