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This sketch is believed to be part of the preparation for a series of intimate portraits of family and friends created by Eakins between 1870 and 1876. The verso painting may depict the artist's two–and–a–half–year–old niece, Ella Crowell.
Exhibition History“Collector’s Choice,” The Lawrenceville School, NJ, October 1987–November 1988
“North Carolina Collects: Traditional Fine Arts and Decorative Arts,” The Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC, July 9–September 30, 1994
“The Collector’s Eye Two: Works from the Collection of Lawrenceville Alumni,” The Lawrenceville School, NJ, May 3–17, 1996
Olin Hall Galleries, Roanoke College, Salem, VA, October 17–November 24, 1997
Duke University Museum of Art, Durham, NC, July–August 1999
Duke University Museum of Art, Durham, NC, November 2002–February 2003
Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, NC, March 1, 2009–March 1, 2010
North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, January–June 2013
ProvenanceThe artist
Susan Macdowell Eakins, wife of the artist
James Graham & Sons, New York, New York
Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, acquired from above, April 13, 1962
Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Foundation, gift from above, December 31, 1985
Sale, Bonhams, New York, New York, July 29, 2020, lot 22, from above
Private collection, acquired from above
Private collection, New York, New York
Artist
Thomas Eakins
(American, 1844 - 1916)
Seated Boy with Book (on verso: Baby Girl Playing)
Dateca. 1876
MediumOil on board
DimensionsSight (Boy): 13 1/4 × 10 3/16 in. (33.7 × 25.9 cm)
Sight (Girl): 13 5/16 × 10 1/4 in. (33.8 × 26 cm)
Object numberN0012.2024(01)
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextThomas Eakins created numerous figurative studies, often depicting his subjects engaged in everyday activity. He would observe his models with scientific precision, focusing on both the physical and psychological states of the individual. In this work, Eakins depicts a young boy concentrating on the book in his lap, while the verso image shows two depictions of a young child playing on the floor.This sketch is believed to be part of the preparation for a series of intimate portraits of family and friends created by Eakins between 1870 and 1876. The verso painting may depict the artist's two–and–a–half–year–old niece, Ella Crowell.
Exhibition History“Collector’s Choice,” The Lawrenceville School, NJ, October 1987–November 1988
“North Carolina Collects: Traditional Fine Arts and Decorative Arts,” The Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC, July 9–September 30, 1994
“The Collector’s Eye Two: Works from the Collection of Lawrenceville Alumni,” The Lawrenceville School, NJ, May 3–17, 1996
Olin Hall Galleries, Roanoke College, Salem, VA, October 17–November 24, 1997
Duke University Museum of Art, Durham, NC, July–August 1999
Duke University Museum of Art, Durham, NC, November 2002–February 2003
Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, NC, March 1, 2009–March 1, 2010
North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, January–June 2013
ProvenanceThe artist
Susan Macdowell Eakins, wife of the artist
James Graham & Sons, New York, New York
Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, acquired from above, April 13, 1962
Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Foundation, gift from above, December 31, 1985
Sale, Bonhams, New York, New York, July 29, 2020, lot 22, from above
Private collection, acquired from above
Private collection, New York, New York
On View
On view
