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Riter Fitzgerald

A work made of oil on canvas.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1895

Artist:

Thomas Eakins (American, 1844–1916)

About this artwork

Riter Fitzgerald—the art, music, and literary critic for the Philadelphia Evening Item—championed Thomas Eakins’s work and publicly defended the artist when his teaching methods proved controversial. Eakins’s portrait of the journalist is informed by Fitzgerald’s open-minded opinions, his appreciation of diverse art forms, and his commitment to intellectual life. Comfortably seated in his book-lined library, Fitzgerald is portrayed as a genteel man who enjoys a leisurely, yet contemplative lifestyle. With an open book in his lap, he thoughtfully gazes into the distance, peacefully lost in the realm of ideas.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Thomas Eakins

Title

Riter Fitzgerald

Place

Philadelphia (Place depicted)

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.

1895

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed, lower left on base of bookcase: "EAKINS 95"

Dimensions

193.7 × 163.2 cm (76 1/4 × 64 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Friends of American Art Collection; Goodman Fund

Reference Number

1950.1511

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.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/72864/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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