George Bellows
George Bellows was an American Ashcan School painter known for energetic scenes of New York City, boxing matches, crowded streets, and rough seas.
Painter
Thomas Eakins
Thomas Eakins was an American Realist painter whose portraits, rowing scenes, and surgical classrooms show careful anatomy, light, and observation.
Thomas Eakins quick facts
Thomas Eakins grounded portraits and sporting scenes in anatomy, geometry, close observation, and photographic study, as seen in his rowing subjects.
| Full name | Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins |
|---|---|
| Born | 1844 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | 1916 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Movements | Realism |
| Paint types | Oil Paint · Watercolor Paint |
| Other media | — |
| Other materials | — |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Paper · Cardboard |
| Painting methods | Measured perspective, anatomical study, preparatory oil sketches, photographic references, subtle tonal modeling, and transparent watercolor |
| Common subjects | Philadelphia rowers, surgeons, students, boxers, portraits, boats, and working people |
| Notable works | The Gross Clinic · The Champion Single Sculls · John Biglin in a Single Scull · The Agnew Clinic |
Sources: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: The Gross Clinic, oil on canvas, The Met: John Biglin in a Single Scull, watercolor on paper, The Met: The Gross Clinic study, watercolor and ink on cardboard, Philadelphia Museum of Art: Thomas Eakins, American Realist.
Paint types used by Thomas Eakins
Eakins worked mainly in oil for portraits and rowing scenes, and also made exhibition watercolors of athletes and musicians on paper and board.
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Oil paint
Eakins’s The Biglin Brothers Racing is recorded as oil on canvas. He used tightly observed figures, measured light, and anatomical detail to give the rowing scene a convincing physical presence. This finished painting documents oil in his major figure compositions.
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Watercolor
Eakins’s John Biglin in a Single Scull is watercolor on paper. He treated rowing as a subject for finished works on paper as well as large oil paintings, using transparent color and a compact format to study the rower, boat, and water.
Sources: National Gallery of Art: The Biglin Brothers Racing; The Met: John Biglin in a Single Scull.; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: The Gross Clinic; The Met: Gross Clinic study, watercolor and ink on cardboard
Painting surfaces used by Thomas Eakins
Documented works by Thomas Eakins use Canvas and Paper, with examples clarifying when a material is painted ground, backing, or part of a constructed work.
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Canvas
Eakins’s major paintings, including The Gross Clinic and The Biglin Brothers Racing, are documented on canvas. The flexible support carries carefully observed figures and controlled lighting, distinct from the small watercolors and drawings he made on paper. The collection entry identifies canvas as the work’s immediate support.
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Paper
Eakins used paper for watercolor studies and drawings, including John Biglin in a Single Scull. The sheet format records rowing and figure studies in a compact medium, separate from the large finished oil compositions on canvas. The collection record names the sheet as the work’s documented support.
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Cardboard
Eakins also used cardboard for watercolor and ink studies, including a study for The Gross Clinic. The rigid sheet provided a firm surface for drawing and wash, distinct from the canvas of the finished painting. The record identifies the panel as part of the painted construction.
Sources: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: The Gross Clinic, oil on canvas, The Met: John Biglin in a Single Scull, watercolor on paper, The Met: The Gross Clinic study, watercolor and ink on cardboard, Philadelphia Museum of Art: Thomas Eakins, American Realist.
Painters similar to Thomas Eakins
Bellows painted American sporting and urban life, while Repin portrayed contemporary people with close Realist observation and detailed figure work.
Ilya Repin
Ilya Repin was a Russian Realist painter born in Ukraine whose portraits and history scenes, including Barge Haulers on the Volga, address social tensions.