Who mentored Harry?

Harry Chase began his formal studies in St. Louis under James Reeve Stuart in the late 1860s. By 1870, Harry was studying in Manhattan at the National Academy of Design under Lemuel Wilmarth, and in 1872, he had journeyed to Europe to enroll at the Royal Bavarian Academy of the Fine Arts in Munich. There, he studied under various masters, the most influential of which was Konstantinos Volanakis, known as Bolonachi, and also Wilhelm von Lindenschmit, the Younger. While in Munich, Harry fashioned the moniker "H.S. Chase Jr." with which he signed his paintings. He remained in Europe for more than three years before returning to New York in 1876. In 1877, Harry left the United States once more to become a student of Paul Constant Soyer in the vicinity of Paris, and studied in France for almost two years. During this time, Harry adopted the signature he would use for the rest of his career - simply "H. Chase." By 1879, Harry had migrated to the Netherlands, where he entered the studio of Hendrik Willem Mesdag in The Hague, and he remained with Mesdag for nearly a year. By 1881, Harry had entered the professional art world of New York, where he kept his studio. In the 1880s, he became a master himself, taking students in New York, and also in his summer studio in New Bedford.

A special exhibit of the works of Konstantinos Volanakis was hosted in Chania on the Greek island of Crete in the summer of 2023. A photographic catalogue of the exhibition was created by the webmaster Jeffrey Chace and can be accessed here:

Konstantinos Volanakis - Nostos of the Sea

All pages © 2019 by Jeffrey B. Chace. Written permission required for duplication.