The American Masters Television Series says of Thomas Eakins, “When Eakins died in 1916, he left behind a body of work unprecedented in American Art for its depth, strength, perception, character, and commitment to realism. During his life he sold less than 30 paintings. Rejected by the public and art establishment of his day, it was only after his death that a new generation of scholars and critics recognized Eakins as one of America’s great painters.” (Click images to enlarge)
Thomas Eakins self portrait, age 58 – Oil 1902)
He was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1844 to a mother of English and Dutch decent, and to a father of Scottish and Irish ancestry. His father was a writing master and calligraphy teacher. Observing his father’s work, young Thomas, by the age of 12 was already demonstrating considerable skill in line drawing and perspective.
“The Writing Master-Portrait of the Artist’s Father” – 30″ x 34″ – Oil (1882)
As a youth, Eakins was athletic, participating in rowing, ice skating, swimming, wrestling, sailing and gymnastics. We see these subjects appear in his later paintings. He attended Central High School in Philadelphia, which was the premier public school for applied science and arts. It was there that he excelled in mechanical drawing. The exactness required of mechanical drawing aligned perfectly with Eakins’ inherent temperament. From high school he enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. As his interest in depicting the human figure grew, he also took courses in anatomy and dissection at Jefferson Medical College. His scientific interest in the human body led him to even consider becoming a surgeon.
“Max Schmitt in a Single Scull” – 32″ x 46″ – Oil (1871)
At the age of 22 he headed to Europe to further his studies. Under the tutelage of the great Jean-Leon Gerome and Leon Bonnatt, Eakins’ desire to capture anatomical exactness was encouraged and developed further. By the time he returned to America four years later, he had thoroughly absorbed the techniques and methods of French and Spanish masters, and his first works upon his return included several rowing scenes, including the now famous “Max Schmitt in a Single Scull” (1871). However, it was not until the 1874 watercolor, “The Sculler” that he had his first sale. I don’t know how Eakins survived financially after his return to America, most likely it was through his father’s support.
“Study of Nude Boy” – 24″ x 18″ – Charcoal (1860’s)
“Study of Nude Man” – 24″ x 17″ – Oil (1869)
At the age of 32 (1876), Eakins returned to the Pennsylvania Academy as a teacher and created what one critic called a great work, “We know of nothing greater that has ever been executed in America.” Eakins himself declared “The Gross Clinic” as the best work he had done to that point in his life. You can imagine the disappointment he felt when it was rejected from the Centennial Exposition of 1876. The jury was offended by the blood and nude depiction of the patient. It was considered a violent, bloody scene and “Thomas Eakins did not have any conception of where to stop. He did not know the limits of the beauty of the nude and the indecency of the naked. He had great power at hand but very little art.”
“The Gross Clinic” – 96″ x 78″ – Oil (1875)
Six years later (1882) he became the director of the Pennsylvania Academy. By this time, he had firmly engrained, but controversial, teaching methods. No longer did he encourage drawing from antique casts as they did in Europe, but students also received minimal instruction in charcoal before moving quickly to painting. The use of photography was also something new. It was brought into the classroom and was encouraged as an aid to understanding anatomy and human motion. This is where much of the controversy surrounding his teaching arose as he requested his students to pose nude so that he could create a photographic catalog of various body types and poses…all as an aid to help students better understand how muscles worked, how the body stood, and the line of motion each pose created.
“Portrait of J. Harry Lewis” – 23.5″ x 19.75″ – Oil (1876)
“Head of William Rush” – 7″ x 4″ x 5″ – Plaster
“Portrait of Amelia van Buren” – 45″ x 32″ – Oil (1891)
Because he had difficulty finding nude models to pose for his classes, it never bothered Eakins to pose nude himself in front of his male students, and to insist his students pose nude as well. I can understand the reasoning behind that. However, not a wise move when one female student asked about the movement of the pelvis and Eakins invited her to his studio where he undressed and “gave her the explanation as I could not have done by words only.” But, when the loin cloth was removed from a male model in a female life drawing class, the word got out.
Eakins was a stubborn, uncompromising man when it came to his methods of teaching human anatomy. His lack of wisdom and stubbornness caused such an uproar among Philadelphia’s proper society of 140 years ago that he was forced to resign his position as director of the Academy. With all this came rumors and accusations of sexual impropriety, all of which he denied, but the damage was done, and the scars remained with him for the rest of his life. It really cost him his reputation and professional success during his lifetime. It was only some years after his death that scholars began to see him in a different light.
“Drawing the Seine” – Watercolor (1882)
“Mending the Net” – 32″ x 45″ – Oil (1881)
Make no mistake, I believe Eakins was a brilliant artist, one of America’s best, but at the same time he did seem to have a weird delight in his own nudity and that of his models. Much of his life’s problems seem self-imposed. With all that said, he was married to Susan Hannah Macdowell for 31 years. She was a former pupil and a gifted painter. They had no children, and we know nothing as to how she responded to all the rumors and accusations about her husband. The Eakins’ had a small income from his father, and they lived a modest life in the family home, where he had lived since childhood. It was there that he died on June 25, 1916 of kidney problems.
Nearing the end of his life, Eakins said, “All my life is in my work.”
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