Study for "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River"

1876–77

Thomas Eakins (American, 1844–1916)

Best known for his realist portraits and scenes of contemporary life, Thomas Eakins also spent considerable energy on history paintings. Here, he executed a study for a painting that celebrates an early American sculptor, William Rush. In the finished painting, Rush is depicted carving his Water Nymph and Bittern (1809), for which the model poses; the statue adorned a public square in Philadelphia, the hometown of both artists. Eakins, an ardent advocate of studying from life, highlights this artistic working method in his rendering of the female form. In 1870s America, artistic studies from the nude figure remained a rarity, a condition that Eakins worked hard to overturn in the following years as an instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Status: On View, Gallery 176
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Thomas Eakins
Title: Study for "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River"
Place: United States (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: c. 1876–1877
Medium: Oil on canvas mounted on board
Dimensions: 35.9 × 28.6 cm (14 1/8 × 11 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Bequest of Dr. John J. Ireland
Reference Number: 1968.91
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/28860/manifest.json

Art Institute of Chicago, Art at The Time of the Centennial, June 19–Aug. 8, 1976, no Catalogue or checklist published, as Nude.
Philadelphia, PA, Philadelphia Museum of Art Thomas Eakins Paris, Musee d’Orsay, Feb. 3–May 12, 2002, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, June 10–Sept. 15, 2002 (Philadelphia and New York only).

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Study for "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River"

On View

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.