BIOGRAPHY
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was born in 1844 in Philadelphia, the first-born and only male of the four children of Benjamin Eakins and Caroline Cowperthwait. His father was a calligrapher and writing master, who supported his family in comfortable circumstances by his profession and through prudent investments. Eakins was raised in the family home at 1729 Mount Vernon Street and would live there for the rest of his life (it still stands). He graduated from the Central High School in Philadelphia and in 1862 began to take courses at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and attended anatomy lectures there and at the Jefferson Medical College. In 1866 he went to Paris, where he attended the École des Beaux-arts and studied with the French painters Jean-Léon Gérôme, who permanently influenced him, and Léon Bonnat and the sculptor Augustin Alexandre Dumont. Before returning to the United States he spent six months in Spain. He greatly admired Spanish painting, particularly the art of Velázquez, which would also be lastingly influential.
Eakins returned to Philadelphia in 1869, where he remained to the end of his life. He resumed his studies at the Jefferson Medical College, and in 1878 he began teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he was appointed professor of Painting and drawing the next year. On January 19, 1884, he married Susan Hannah Macdowell, a student at the academy. In his teaching, Eakins was steadfast in his insistence on painting from the nude model. The controversy surrounding this practice led to his dismissal, with an aroma of scandal, from the professorship in 1886.
Sotheby's 2012
Thomas Eakins
1844 - 1916
1844 - 1916
PORTRAIT OF FRANCESCO ROMANO
LOT SOLD.
146,500
Thomas Eakins
UNTITLED (PORTRAIT OF A GIRL IN PUFF SLEEVES)
LOT SOLD.
18,750Bonhams 2012
Thomas Eakins (American, 1844-1916)
Portrait of Rebecca MacDowell (Mrs. J. Randolph Garrett), circa 1908
20 1/4 x 16in
US$ 70,000 - 90,000
Christie's 2011
Christie’s 2009
Christie’s 2007
Pr.$78,000
National Gallery (Washington DC)
National Gallery (Washington DC)
- Eakins, Thomas
- , American, 1844 - 1916
- The Biglin Brothers Racing
- 1872
- oil on canvas
- overall: 61.2 x 91.6 cm (24 1/8 x 36 1/16 in.)
- framed: 74.9 x 105.7 x 5.4 cm (29 1/2 x 41 5/8 x 2 1/8 in.)
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
- Eakins, Thomas
- , American, 1844 - 1916
- Baby at Play
- 1876
- oil on canvas
- overall: 81.9 x 122.8 cm (32 1/4 x 48 3/8 in.)
- framed: 106.7 x 147.3 cm (42 x 58 in.)
- John Hay Whitney Collection
- 1982.76.5
- Eakins, Thomas
- American, 1844 - 1916
- The Poleman in the Ma'sh
- c. 1881
- brown wash heightened with white over graphite and black chalk
- overall: 28 x 15.1 cm (11 x 5 15/16 in.)
- Julius S. Held Collection, Avalon Fund
- 1984.3.9
-
- Eakins, Thomas
- , American, 1844 - 1916
- The Chaperone
- c. 1908
- oil on canvas
- overall: 46.3 x 36.2 cm (18 1/4 x 14 1/4 in.)
- framed: 63.5 x 53.3 x 8.3 cm (25 x 21 x 3 1/4 in.)
- Gift of John Wilmerding, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
- 1991.34.1
-
- Eakins, Thomas
- , American, 1844 - 1916
- Rear Admiral George W. Melville
- 1905
- oil on canvas
- overall: 101.6 x 68.5 cm (40 x 26 15/16 in.)
- framed: 115.6 x 82.6 x 5.1 cm (45 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 2 in.)
- Gift (Partial and Promised) of Senator and Mrs. H. John Heinz III, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
- 1991.33.1
-
- Eakins, Thomas
- , American, 1844 - 1916
- Archbishop Diomede Falconio
- 1905
- oil on canvas
- overall: 183.2 x 137.7 cm (72 1/8 x 54 3/16 in.)
- framed: 204.5 x 159.4 x 6 cm (80 1/2 x 62 3/4 x 2 3/8 in.)
- Gift of Stephen C. Clark
- 1946.16.1
-
- Eakins, Thomas
- , American, 1844 - 1916
- Annie C. Lochrey Husson (Mrs. Louis Husson)
- c. 1905
- oil on canvas
- overall: 61.1 x 50.9 cm (24 1/16 x 20 1/16 in.)
- framed: 79.4 x 69.2 x 7 cm (31 1/4 x 27 1/4 x 2 3/4 in.)
- Gift of Katharine Husson Horstick
- 1957.2.2
-
- Eakins, Thomas
- , American, 1844 - 1916
- Harriet Husson Carville (Mrs. James G. Carville)
- 1904
- oil on canvas
- overall: 51 x 40.7 cm (20 1/16 x 16 in.)
- framed: 74.8 x 62.4 x 7 cm (29 7/16 x 24 9/16 x 2 3/4 in.)
- Gift of Elizabeth O. Carville
- 1976.27
-
- Eakins, Thomas
- , American, 1844 - 1916
- Louis Husson
- 1899
- oil on canvas
- overall: 61 x 50.9 cm (24 x 20 1/16 in.)
- framed: 76.2 x 66 x 6.7 cm (30 x 26 x 2 5/8 in.)
- Gift of Katharine Husson Horstick
- 1957.2.1
