Susan Macdowell Eakins

Susan Macdowell Eakins painted portraits and genre scenes, or scenes of everyday life, that mirrored the artistic community of her native Philadelphia. One of eight children born to a respected engraver and avowed liberal and freethinker, Susan Eakins was encouraged in her artistic inclinations. She received some instruction from figure painter Christian Schussele (1824–1879). She first met her future husband, artist Thomas Eakins, in 1876 at a Philadelphia gallery, and was so struck by his art that she invited him to critique her work in the home studio she shared with her sisters. Susan studied under Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, acting as spokesperson for a group of female students when they appealed to the institution’s board to hire him to teach figure drawing in 1877. By that time she had begun to exhibit her work in the Academy’s annual exhibitions, where she won prizes in 1879 and 1882. Her portraits and her images of friends and family members making music or engaged in other daily activities reflect her mentor’s somber tones and commitment to modern life, as well as his respect for rigorous academic technique. Thomas Eakins referred to Susan as one of the best female artists in America.

Susan and Thomas Eakins were married in 1884 and lived out their lives in the Eakins family home in Philadelphia, where each painted in a separate fourth-floor studio. Long thought to have abandoned her art until after her husband’s death, Susan continued to paint but devoted much of her time to facilitating his career, which was punctuated by conflict with patrons, institutions, and fellow artists. Susan answered correspondence, arranged for the shipping of his paintings, and entertained friends and family. A staunch and good-humored ally of her husband, she also found time to cultivate her own interests in books and the theater. She was a talented amateur pianist, and held musicales at their home. She was also a talented photographer even before she met Thomas, himself an avid and innovative practitioner in the medium; In fact, some photographs originally attributed to him are now thought to be Susan’s work.

 After Thomas Eakins’s death, Susan devoted herself to exhibiting and placing his paintings. Self-effacing, she instructed an early biographer to remove a mention of her from an account of her husband’s career. Widowhood inspired a resurgence of her own creativity, however, and she painted avidly in her remaining years, producing still lifes in addition to portraits and figure compositions. Many of these late paintings show a new interest in bright color and soft, fluid brushwork, in contrast to the dark tones and controlled technique of her youthful works.