Alice Willard's Summer at Shinnecock

Watercolor by Alice Willard

Collection of the Longmeadow Historical Society

In the summer of 1897, Shinnecock Hills, New York was alive with artistic ambition. The Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art, led by the renowned painter William Merrit Chase, was more than a scenic retreat - it was a crucible for American Impressionism. Chase founded the Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art in 1891, the first open-air (plein air) painting school in America. Inspired by French Impressionists like Monet and Sisley, Chase encouraged students to paint directly from nature, capturing fleeting light and atmosphere, without preparatory sketches.  While French Impressionism often focused on urban scenes and leisure, Chase’s Shinnecock work emphasized American landscapes - windswept dunes, scrubby hills, and coastal light.  Empowering a generation of artists, the school welcomed women, offering them rare access to professional instruction, and artistic community.

Watercolor by Alice Willard

Collection of the Longmeadow Historical Society

On August 27, 1897, The Springfield Republican reported that Alice Willard, a 31-year-old Art teacher for the Longmeadow schools, had returned to Longmeadow from the Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art.

Willard’s message to the School Committee a year after her return reveals a most remarkable statement: “At the beginning of the spring term, a year ago, we began the use of watercolor in the grammar school. The time given to the study of color the year before, together with the practice of using the brush during the fall terms, helped us in beginning, and the pupils made some progress in mixing and laying on the color. The work was continued in the fall term, together with color study by means of colored papers.”

In the school year 1904-05 she reported starting lessons in watercolors in lower grades: “Few important changes have been made in the course in Drawing the past two or three years, but a continual and largely successful effort has been made to raise the standard of the work. We have had more color study in the upper grades, and have introduced the use of watercolor into the second and third grade room, so that much valuable time has not, as formerly, been spent in the fourth grade each fall in teaching a new class the handling of this medium.”

Watercolor by Alice Willard

Collection of the Longmeadow Historical Society

In these reports, Willard describes using the layering techniques she learned at Shinnecock. Alice Willard was teaching the children of Longmeadow the innovations of watercolor painting!

Alice Willard, Artist & Teacher

Between now and the end of October, stop by the Betty Ann Low Room at the Richard Salter Storrs Library to see a display of the breadth of Alice Willard’s artistic talent on display.  The Longmeadow Historical Society has recently produced a set of notecards featuring some of Willard’s floral designs. Reach out to us at info@longmeadowhistoricalsociety to get your own set!