Washington AllstonAmerican, 1779–1843Diana on a Chase
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Diana on a Chase” now? Collection: Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Cambridge, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
In the early 19th century, American artists joined their British counterparts and embarked on the Grand Tour. Washington Allston traveled to Europe upon his graduation from Harvard in 1800, and completed this large and ambitious work while in Rome in 1805. Loosely modeled on an alpine vista that Allston sketched while traveling from France to Italy, "Diana on a Chase" is evocative of the classical landscapes of Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin. At right, the Roman goddess of the hunt and her companions wander through the vast mountainous scene.
Read on
Publicly exhibited in Rome, "Diana on a Chase" received glowing reviews and impressed Allston’s Romantically-minded contemporaries, including poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The artist’s pride in the work was short-lived, however: in 1839, Allston disavowed authorship of the painting, claiming that an aggressive cleaning had ruined his original conception.
Harvard Art Museums
Details
- Accession number
- 1956.62
In the catalog
Sources
- Harvard Art Museums
- Image: Harvard Art Museums — © President and Fellows of Harvard College
In the life of Washington Allston
The whole life1803–1808
Museums of Paris and Italy
Visits the great museums of Paris and then, for several years, those of Italy.
1803–1808
Meets Coleridge, a friend for life
In Italy he meets Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who becomes his lifelong friend and greatly admires his artistic genius.
1803–1808
Meets Washington Irving in Rome
During his years in Italy he meets Washington Irving in Rome.
![Composition with Four Figures [recto and verso], Attributed to Washington Allston, c. 1805](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/044e2eea-1b47-46e0-b33f-50adcdc6b4e7/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
