Docent Handbook - Artist Fact Sheet Artist Name: EAKINS, THOMAS Date: 1844-1916 Nationality: American Title/Date: Grouse (H. Schreiber’s Setter), 1872 Size: 25 ¼ x 29 inches Medium: Oil on canvas Gallery Location: 4th Floor, Gallery 5 Salient Characteristics of this Work: - Henry Schreiber, a professional photographer and the most admired animal photography specialist in Philadelphia, was a friend of Eakins - Painting was derived from a photo by Schreiber - Realism and clarity – not sentimental - Masterful use of color, light, and realism with a common subject - Objective rendering of form - Interest in outdoor life (the Springer Spaniel breed is primarily a bird dog used in hunting) Salient Characteristics of the Artist/Anecdotal Information: - Influential and innovative artist for generations of American painters and photographers - Based many of his paintings on photographic studies of subjects - Direct opaque painting with multi-layered glazes - Influence of 17th century, Spanish Realist, Velazquez - His friend, poet Walt Whitman, on Eakins: “Eakins is not a painter, he is a force.” Information Narrative: - Born July 25, 1844 in Philadelphia, PA - Taught draftsmanship at an early age by his father, Benjamin, which may well account for Eakins’ great skill in precision drawing - After graduation from Central High School, he spent 2 years studying anatomy by dissection at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia; from studying the construction of bone and muscle, the human body became the most beautiful thing in the world to Eakins—his passion was anatomy - 1862, began studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - 1866-1869, studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris - Spent 6 months in Spain, studying the paintings of Velazquez at the Prado before returning to Philadelphia in 1870 - 1873, began teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he was recognized as dedicated and inspired teacher - 1875, began using a camera for studies of human and animal subjects - 1876, exhibited the highly realistic The Gross Clinic, to critical disdain and public repulsion, and attracted the attention of Susan Hannah MacDowell, who became his student at the Pennsylvania Academy - 1882, became Director of Instruction at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - 1884, married Susan MacDowell, who never ceased believing her husband was the greatest American artist of his time; assisted Eadweard Muybridge in photographic study of men and animals in motion at the University of Pennsylvania - 1886, forced to resign from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts because he was adamant that the academy facilities serve professional artists rather than amateurs, and because of his controversial teaching methods - in a life-drawing class for females, weary of explaining male anatomy to his students, he removed the loincloth from the model, causing a shock that sent waves of horror throughout the entire city; forced resignation brought on depression - Late 1886-1887, traveled to the Dakota territory, met Walt Whitman who was a friend until Whitman’s death in 1892, and resumed painting - 1901, received a prize for painting at the International Exposition in Buffalo, NY - 1904, received prizes Philadelphia and at the International Exposition in St. Louis - 1910, stopped painting due to illness - Died at the age of 72 on June 25, 1916 in Philadelphia .