![William Merritt Chase - Open Air Breakfast [c.1887]](http://farm1.staticflickr.com/371/19424351314_e83e4d6a52_o.jpg)
Having moved with his new bride to his parents' residence in Brooklyn shortly after his marriage in February 1887, Chase (American, 1849–1916) depicted members of his family in their secluded backyard. His wife, Alice Gerson Chase, wearing a morning cap, is seated in profile at the breakfast table next to baby Alice (known as Cosy) in a wicker high chair. Behind Alice stands Chase's sister Hattie wearing a seventeenth-century Dutch burgher's hat and holding a battledore. One of Alice's sisters reclines in a hammock, and one of Chase's wolfhound naps on the grass at the left. Not interested in obvious anecdote or psychological content, Chase tells a comforting story of the pleasures of the domestic sphere at a time when the challenges of city life increased the importance of retreat and relaxation.
[Toledo Museum of Art - Oil on canvas, 95.3 x 144.1 cm]