Thomas Eakins - Definition and Overview

Eakins' Max Schmitt in a single scull

Thomas Eakins (July 25, 1844 - June 25, 1916) was an American painter, sculptor, and fine arts educator.

Born in Philadelphia. Studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, then in Europe 1866-1870, notably with Jean-Léon Gérôme in Paris. Returned to the Pennsylvania Academy to teach starting in 1876, where his emphasis was on classical techniques of working from life, including use of nude models which brought puritanical criticism against him at the time. Eakins was a pioneer in the use of photography as an aid to composition,

Though his is not a household name, Eakins is regarded as one of finest realist painters and portraitists of his day, and one of the top American artists of any period.