Monday Meme: Enthusiasm

Born today in 1844, painter, sculptor and educator Thomas Eakins is unquestionably one of America’s master artists. We honor him on his birthday with a Monday Meme featuring his art and words. Known for his landscapes, figurative paintings and the incredibly famous and controversial,  The Gross Clinic, Thomas Eakins’ legacy is not one without mystery or debate. The ongoing presence of the male figure in his work has led to decades of “Was he or wasn’t he” type of discussions. Clearly homoerotic in tone, many of his figure studies have caused scholars to look deeper in Eakins’ personal life. Eakins, although married, was well-known to have close intimate relationships with male students and colleagues including sculptor Samuel Murray. Murray was a constant companion to Eakins in the latter years of his life. The relationship with Murray is said have been more important to Eakins than his marriage to fellow painter Susan Hannah Macdowell. Alas, the art world will never know the sexuality of Thomas Eakins. Instead, what we’re left with is the breathtaking work of master artist able to capture America and the men who lived there in an era long gone.