Thomas
Eakins was born in
Philadelphia on 25th July, 1844. After graduating from Central High
School he studied for 5 years at the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts where he was forced to draw from casts. To compensate
for his lack of live models Eakins entered Jefferson Medical College
and took regular courses in anatomy.
In 1866 Eakins moved to Paris where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux
Arts. He also travelled in Italy, Germany and Spain before
returning to Philadelphia in July, 1870. During this period he painted
outdoor pictures of his native city and domestic genre pictures of
his family and friends in their homes. In 1875 he painted his most
famous picture, The Gross Clinic,
which aroused controversy because of its detailed depiction of a surgical
operation.
Eakins began teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy
of Fine Arts in 1876. He was attacked for his radical ideas,
particularly his insistence on working from nude models. In 1886 he
was forced to resign after allowing a mixed class to draw from a completely
nude male model.
Eakins, who by the 1880s had only managed to sell nine pictures for
a total of $2,000 now decided to concentrate on portraiture. However,
commissions were rare and most of his portraits were of his friends
and individuals who he admired and offered to paint them without payment.
Although ignored in his lifetime, the teachings of Robert
Henri, John Sloan and George
Luks helped to continue his influence in the 20th century. Thomas
Eakins died in 1916.
Thomas Eakins, The
Gross Clinic (1875)
(1)
Robert Henri, open letter to Art
Student League, (29th October, 1917)
Thomas Eakins was a man of great character. He was a man of iron will
and his will to paint and to carry out his life as he thought it should
go. This he did. It cost him heavily but in his works we have the
precious result of his independence, his generous heart and his big
mind. Eakins was a deep student of life, and with a great love he
studied humanity frankly. He was not afraid of what his study revealed
to him.
In the matter of ways and means of expression, the science of technique,
he studied most profoundly, as only a great master would have the
will to study. His vision was not touched by fashion. He struggled
to apprehend the constructive force in nature and to employ in his
works the principles found. His quality was honesty. "Integrity"
is the word which seems best to fit him. Personally I consider him
the greatest portrait painter America has produced.
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