Alice Dieudonnée

William Merritt Chase’s Alice Dieudonnée is an unfinished informal portrait of his oldest child at roughly the age of five. Alice is shown from about the waist up, her face framed by her dark hair and her head set against a contrasting green curtain backdrop. Her ruffled dress is only hinted at in a few quick lines of gray, but her left hand appears to reach toward her shoulder as if to secure a ruffled red shawl or pillow. Executed almost entirely in thin washes over a few, faint gray lines, the image is vague, almost dreamy, particularly Alice’s delicately suggested features, but her gaze is directed steadily at the viewer. The sketchy nature of the lower part of the drawing emphasizes the artist’s care in depicting the subject’s face, especially the almost longing nature of her glance.

Alice was born in 1887. Given the fanciful middle name Dieudonnée (French for “God’s gift”), she immediately became her father’s pet and soon his favorite model. Chase affectionately nicknamed her Cosy and also his “Little Red Note” because he liked a bit of red in her dress to lend focus to his paintings. In this watercolor, Chase has already placed the red accent to the right of the figure, as well as a bit of deep pink in the ribbon around her neck.

A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]

An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.

Face to Face: Portraits from the Collections of Terra Museum of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 8, 1994–April 2, 1995.

American Treasures: Chase, Whistler, and the Prendergasts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 26, 1996–January 5, 1997.

On Process: Studio Themes, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 13–March 4, 2001.

D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.

Visages de l'Amérique: de George Washington à Marilyn Monroe (Faces of America: From George Washington to Marilyn Monroe), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2004 (on exhibit partial run: April 1–May 3, 2004 and July 5–October 31, 2004). [exh. cat.]

Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-69, p. 178 (color).

Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Faces of America: Portraits of the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, 1770-1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text p. 30 (checklist); ill. frontispiece (color).

Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Visages de l'Amérique: le portrait dans la collection de la Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text p. 30 (checklist); ill. frontispiece (color).

Pisano, Ronald G.; completed by D. Frederick Baker. William Merritt Chase; The Paintings in Pastel, Monotypes, Painted Tiles and Ceramic Plates, Watercolors and Prints (The Complete Catalogue of Known and Documented Work of William Merritt Chase, Vol 1). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2006. Text p. 84 [listed as "location unknown"]; Ill., p. 84, W.35 (color).