The Revenge of Thomas Eakins

by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick

• ISBN13: 9780300136449
• ISBN10: 0300136447
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2008-02-28
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Thomas Eakins was misunderstood in life, his brilliant work earned little acclaim, and hidden demons tortured and drove him. Yet the portraits he painted more than a century ago captivate us today, and he is now widely acclaimed as the finest portrait painter our nation has ever produced. This book recounts the artist's life in fascinating detail, drawing on a treasure trove of Eakins family correspondence and papers that have only recently been discovered. Never before has Thomas Eakins's story been told with such drama, clarity, and accuracy. Sidney Kirkpatrick sets the painter's life and art in the wider context of the changing world he devoted himself to portraying, and he also addresses the artist's private lifethe contradictory impulses, obsessions, and possible psychological illness that fired his work. Kirkpatrick underscores Eakins's unflinching integrity as an artist and discloses how his profound appreciation of the beauty of the human form was both the source of his greatness and ultimately of his undoing. Nevertheless, the author observes, Eakins has had his "revenge," inspiring a new generation of realist painters and gaining the recognition that eluded him in life.

Author Biography

Sidney D. Kirkpatrick is a critically acclaimed author and award-winning documentary film producer. His most recent book is Edgar Cayce, An American Prophet.

Table of Contents

Introduction: In Light and Shadow	p. 1
Master and Apprentice
The Eakins Family of Philadelphia	p. 19
Master Benjamin	p. 30
The Art of the Penman	p. 36
An Uncertain Future	p. 46
The Medical Arts and the Fine Arts	p. 52
The Pennsylvania Academy	p. 59
A Dangerous Young Adonis	p. 66
From Temple to Palace	p. 75
Heads and Hands	p. 84
Letters Home	p. 93
Rough Around the Edges	p. 105
The Artist and His Muse	p. 111
Picture Making	p. 118
Artist and Educator
The Road Less Traveled	p. 129
Champion Oarsman	p. 139
The Biglin Brothers Racing	p. 149
Hikers and Hunters	p. 156
Uncompromising Realism	p. 164
A Good and Decent Girl	p. 176
The Blood-Covered Scalpel	p. 184
A Degradation of Art	p. 191
Painting Heads	p. 198
The Unflinching Eye	p. 206
Talk of the Town	p. 215
Nymph in the Fountain	p. 222
The Open Door	p. 230
A May Morning in the Park	p. 241
Jerusalem in New Jersey	p. 252
Tripod and Easel	p. 260
Nudes and Prudes	p. 270
The Lovely Young Men of Dove Lake	p. 282
Exposed and Expelled
Philanthropists and Philistines	p. 297
The Hanging Committee	p. 305
Point of No Return	p. 310
Demons and Demigods	p. 317
The Family Skeleton	p. 327
Black Care	p. 336
The Bard of Camden	p. 346
A League of His Own	p. 356
Dressed and Undressed	p. 367
Portraits by a Modern Master	p. 379
Horrors of the Dissecting Table	p. 388
Casting for Commissions	p. 400
The Pied Piper of Philadelphia	p. 413
Forgiven and Forgotten
Portrait of a Physicist	p. 427
Down for the Count	p. 436
Outlaw in an Undershirt	p. 447
Pictured Lives	p. 458
Pontiffs and Prelates	p. 469
Return to Rush	p. 479
Artist in Residence	p. 486
Notes	p. 497
Bibliography	p. 531
Acknowledgments	p. 539
Index	p. 543
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