 |
| Self Portrait c1884 |
In addition to being an accomplished painter, watercolourist and teacher, Thomas Eakins was a dedicated and talented photographer. Working with a wooden view camera, glass plate negatives, and the platinum print process, he distinguished himself from most other painters of his generation by mastering the technical aspects of the new medium and requiring his students to do the same. For Eakins, the camera was a teaching device comparable to anatomical drawing, a tool the modern artist should use to train the eye to see what was truly before it.
Although it is not known from whom or when Eakins learned photography, it is clear that by 1880 he had already incorporated the camera into his professional and personal life. The vast majority of photographs attributed to Eakins are figure studies (nude and clothed) and portraits of his pupils, extended family (including himself) and immediate friends. More than 225 negatives survive in the Bregler collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and approximately 800 images are currently attributed to Eakins and his circle—ample proof of the intensity with which Eakins worked with the camera.
Eakins did not generally use photographs as a preparatory aid to painting, although there are a small number of oils which have direct counterparts in existing photographs: the Amon Carter Museum's The Swimming Hole and the Metropolitan's Arcadia being the foremost examples:
 |
| 1884-85 Swimming oil on canvas 69.4 x 92.2 cm |
 |
| 1883 photograph of Eakins' students at the site of "The Swimming Hole" |
 |
| c1883 Arcadia oil on canvas 98.1 x 114.3 cm |
 |
| c1883 Portrait of Eakins by Thomas Anshutz |
The artistic freedom of the classical world that Eakins strove to bring to life in his academic programs at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (and in his Arcadian paintings) also appears as an important element in many of his nude studies with the camera. These photographs, far more than the paintings, celebrate the male physique; even today, more than a century after their creation, their unabashed frontal nudity still has the power to shock contemporary eyes.
 |
| 1880 Maggie Eakins and "Harry" with Woman with Parasol albumen silver print |
 |
| 1880 Maggie Eakins with "Harry" albumen silver print |
 |
| 1880 William J. Crowell with Ella albumen silver print 9.5 x 7.2 cm |
 |
| 1880-82 Maggie Eakins with "Harry" glass positive |
 |
| 1880-82 Maggie Eakins with "Harry" platinum print |
 |
| 1880-82 William H. Macdowell ( Eakins' father-in-law ) and Margaret Eakins in Saltville, Virginia platinum print 27.4 x 20 cm |
 |
| 1880s William H. MacDowell gelatin silver print |
 |
| 1880s ( Female Model, Hand to Head ) cyanotype |
 |
| 1880s ( Model in Grecian Dress ) albumen silver print |
 |
| 1880s ( Portrait of a Child ) albumen silver print |
 |
| 1880s Amelia Van Buren with a Cat |
 |
| 1880s Eliza Cowperthwaite albumen silver print |
 |
| 1880s Elizabeth MacDowell Kenton albumen silver print |
 |
| 1880s Frank MacDowell glass positive |
 |
| 1880s George W. Holmes platinum print |
 |
| 1880s Mary Macdowell platinum print |
 |
| 1880s Miss Gilroy with Banjo platinum print |
 |
| 1880s Mrs. William H. Macdowell platinum print |
 |
| 1880s Susan MacDowell with Maggie Eakins, Ben, Will, and Artie Crowell glass positive |
 |
| 1880s ( Woman Playing Cello ) platinum print |
 |
| 1880s William H. MacDowell albumen silver print |
 |
| 1880s William H. MacDowell platinum print |
 |
| 1880s William O'Donovan and a Lady platinum print |
 |
| 1880s-90s ( Mrs. Eakins or Her Sister Doll ) albumen silver print |
 |
| 1881 Frances Eakins Crowell with the Horse called "Bess" albumen silver print |
 |
| 1883 Margaret Eakins glass positive 8.3 x 5.4 cm |
 |
| 1883 Two Pupils in Greek Dress platinum print 36.8 x 26.7 cm |
 |
| 1883 Two Boys Playing at the Creek, July 4, 1883 albumen silver print 8.8 x 11.1 cm |
 |
| c1883 Thomas Eakins and J. Laurie Wallace at the Shore platinum print 25.5 x 20.4 cm |
