William Merritt Chase depicts late 19th century Brooklyn parks in several of his paintings.
He lived with his family on Marcy Avenue at the time, so it’s no surprise that he painted scenes like this one from Tompkins Park in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Tompkins, named after a local abolitionist, was the first park established by the city of Brooklyn and laid out by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted.
Opened in the 1870s, it’s now called Herbert Von King Park, after a Bed-Stuy community leader.
Tags: 19th Century Brooklyn, Bedford-Stuyvesant 19th century, Brooklyn painters, Herbert Von King Park, Marcy Avenue Brooklyn, New York painters, Tompkins Park Brooklyn, William Merritt Chase
September 10, 2012 at 2:13 pm |
Beautiful painting! And after years and years of crime and decline, Von King Park is on the rebound. This photo from the BedStuy Patch is testimony to its renewal. http://bed-stuy.patch.com/listings/herbert-von-king-park#photo-2739110
September 10, 2012 at 2:40 pm |
Thanks for the photo! It’s not as well-known as Fort Greene Park, but it has its beauty and Victorian grace.
September 10, 2012 at 5:14 pm |
My father who would be 112 today lived on Marcy Avenue as a child. He took me to Tompkins Park on the way to Bedford Avenue to watch the” Decoration Day “parade. I was probably 7 years old at the time and remember the Legion guys marching with bright silver coloured helments. I really don’t remember too much about the park. Later as an adult, with a job that took me through the area, it was a place to avoid.
September 10, 2012 at 8:09 pm |
It was a place to avoid for a quarter century, at least. Be grateful that you have such a terrific, magical image of the place!
September 10, 2012 at 8:38 pm |
I think it’s on the way back though!
September 11, 2012 at 2:23 am |
And there is a nice community garden across the street. I was there at the end of August and the park and garden are very nice. The baseball field has an interesting design.
September 29, 2012 at 12:43 am |
I love this park! I live two blocks away, My dog Ozzy and I are always meandering through it.
February 28, 2013 at 4:32 am |
[...] 1899, with encouragement from William Merritt Chase, he moved to New York City,” states oxfordgallery.com. Here he opened a studio, became [...]