THOMAS EAKINS - Hardcover

WILMERDING JOHN

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1560983132 ISBN 13: 9781560983132

Publisher: Smithsonian, 1993

Synopsis

Placing Eakins's photographic works in the context of the transitional era when photography evolved from commerce to art, an exploration of his photographs reveals that he broke new ground in photographic printing and emphasized the nude in innovative ways. UP.

About this title

Reviews

Eakins (1844-1916) painted portraits of scientists, surgeons, writers, teachers, musicians and sportsmen, figures who, as Wilmerding notes, "all relied on the sensitive coordination of intelligence and action, of mind and body, of brain and hands." In this rewarding catalogue of an exhibition at London's National Portrait Gallery, essays by 30 scholars provide fresh perspectives on the American realist's uncompromising vision. Eakins often projected his own anxieties and feelings into his pictures, as in a remarkably candid portrait of his wife Susan Macdowell, or the devastating images of patrons who appear vain and heartless. His portraits of female nudes, Roman Catholic clerics, his favorite sister Margaret, African American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner and Walt Whitman reflect the diverse interests of this anti-impressionist. Wilmerding is professor of American art at Princeton.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

At first glance, Eakins' luminous and "consummate realist" paintings appear to be calm, dignified, and even clinical, but in fact, they are brilliantly nuanced, moody, and alive with conflict and contrast. Eakins' turbulent career was explored with great candor and detail in William Innes Homer's fine 1992 biography, but this volume's set of essays and lush reproductions further extends our understanding of the relationship between Eakins' personality and his work. Both commentary and plates focus strictly on Eakins' portraits, inspiring discussions that embrace not only Eakins' aesthetics and deliberate defiance of the conventions of portraiture, but also his interpretations of relationships and social mores. Essay topics include the "tensions of biography and art" in Eakins' paintings; how his work relates to the work of his European contemporaries; Eakins' pioneering use of photography; and the critical reception of his work, both during his lifetime and posthumously. The catalog portion covers some 50 works. Donna Seaman

Eakins's subjects gaze intently at the world before them and, even more so, at their inner visions. These are the "warts and all" of the soul of Philadelphia society in the aftermath of the Civil War. Published on the occasion of a unique show at the National Portrait Gallery in London, the first there of a "great foreign artist who did not practise in (indeed never visited) this country," this work is the most complete study available of a provocative and penetrating genius. It combines the talents and insights of 30 Eakins scholars in its examination of the paintings and in recently rediscovered photographs by the artist. The discussion of Eakins's great interest in photography and its impact upon his work provides an added dimension to these insights. With excellent illustrations and an extensive bibliography, this scholarly work is an outstanding resource for all art libraries.
- Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Smithsonian
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1560983132
• ISBN 13: 9781560983132
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 212