Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Thomas J. Eagan, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania (the sitter)
M. Knoedler & Company, Inc., New York, New York
Thomas Mellon Evans
Christie's New York, New York, May 21, 1988, lot 33
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1998
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Thomas Eakins
(American, 1844–1916)
Portrait of Thomas J. Eagan
1907
Oil on canvas
Image: 24 x 20 in. (61.0 x 50.8 cm)
Frame: 30 7/16 x 26 9/16 x 3 1/8 in. (77.3 x 67.5 x 7.9 cm)
Frame: 30 7/16 x 26 9/16 x 3 1/8 in. (77.3 x 67.5 x 7.9 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Art Acquisition Endowment Fund
Object number1998.1
SignedSigned center right, dated and inscribed: To his friend and pupil Thomas Eakins 1907
InterpretationPortrait of Thomas J. Eagan is typical of Thomas Eakins’s late portraits in its intimacy, compositional simplicity, and sympathetic scrutiny of a sitter drawn from the artist’s immediate circle. Conventional in its bust-length format and outward formality, it presents its subject in a straightforward pose, with his head and gaze turned toward an unseen light source coming from the left. The face is built up gradually, according to traditional technique, from dark underpainting to the highlights that describe the subject’s firm features, culminating in his bright blue eyes seen through metal-rimmed spectacles.
In the background of the portrait, Eakins inscribed a dedication “to his friend and pupil.” Artist and sitter had known each other for a quarter of a century when this portrait was painted. Originally Eakins’s student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Eagan left the academy in protest when Eakins was dismissed in 1886 for the instructor’s use of an unclothed male model in a mixed-gender class, as suited his ideal of rigorous artistic training. Eagan helped found the Art Students League of Philadelphia, he participated in the photographic sessions of nude modeling Eakins organized there, and he would serve as a pallbearer at his mentor’s funeral less than a decade after this portrait was painted. Little is known of Eagan’s artistic career, but the portrait demonstrates Eakins’s affection for one of his most loyal associates.
Always drawn to portraiture, Eakins after 1890 focused with obsessive interest on that genre. Using smaller canvases than he had previously, particularly the 24-by-20-inch format of the Eagan portrait, he abandoned the settings and props with which he had earlier explored his sitters’ public and private personae. Setting a subject’s upper body against a dark, nondescript background, he dramatized the face with strong, even harsh lighting for sometimes unforgiving results. In Eagan’s portrait, however, Eakins’s scathing realism is tempered by an effect of dignified calm that evinces a mutual professional as well as personal regard.
In the background of the portrait, Eakins inscribed a dedication “to his friend and pupil.” Artist and sitter had known each other for a quarter of a century when this portrait was painted. Originally Eakins’s student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Eagan left the academy in protest when Eakins was dismissed in 1886 for the instructor’s use of an unclothed male model in a mixed-gender class, as suited his ideal of rigorous artistic training. Eagan helped found the Art Students League of Philadelphia, he participated in the photographic sessions of nude modeling Eakins organized there, and he would serve as a pallbearer at his mentor’s funeral less than a decade after this portrait was painted. Little is known of Eagan’s artistic career, but the portrait demonstrates Eakins’s affection for one of his most loyal associates.
Always drawn to portraiture, Eakins after 1890 focused with obsessive interest on that genre. Using smaller canvases than he had previously, particularly the 24-by-20-inch format of the Eagan portrait, he abandoned the settings and props with which he had earlier explored his sitters’ public and private personae. Setting a subject’s upper body against a dark, nondescript background, he dramatized the face with strong, even harsh lighting for sometimes unforgiving results. In Eagan’s portrait, however, Eakins’s scathing realism is tempered by an effect of dignified calm that evinces a mutual professional as well as personal regard.
Thomas J. Eagan, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania (the sitter)
M. Knoedler & Company, Inc., New York, New York
Thomas Mellon Evans
Christie's New York, New York, May 21, 1988, lot 33
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1998
Exhibition History
A Loan Exhibition of the Works of Thomas Eakins, 1844–1944, Commemorating the Centennial of his Birth, M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, New York (organizer). Venues: M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, New York, June–July 1944; Wilmington Society of Fine Arts, Wilmington, Delaware, October 1944; Doll & Richards, Boston, Massachusetts, November 1944; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina, November-December 1944. [exh. cat.]
Thomas Eakins Centennial Exhibition, 1844–1944, Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 26–June 1, 1945, no. 38. [exh. cat.]
19th and 20th Century American Paintings from Private Collections, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, June-September, 1972, no. 22.
New Faces, New Places: Recent Additions to the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 14–December 31, 2000.
On Process: Studio Themes, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 13–March 4, 2001.
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 10–July 1, 2001.
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 2001.
D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.
A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003.
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts (Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 2–June 1, 2003. [exh. cat.]
Copley to Cassatt: Masterworks from the Terra Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, and Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, September 5–December 7, 2003.
Visages de l'Amérique: de George Washington à Marilyn Monroe (Faces of America: From George Washington to Marilyn Monroe), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2004. [exh. cat.]
Expanded Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, April 15, 2005–present.
Thomas Eakins Centennial Exhibition, 1844–1944, Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 26–June 1, 1945, no. 38. [exh. cat.]
19th and 20th Century American Paintings from Private Collections, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, June-September, 1972, no. 22.
New Faces, New Places: Recent Additions to the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 14–December 31, 2000.
On Process: Studio Themes, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 13–March 4, 2001.
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 10–July 1, 2001.
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 2001.
D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.
A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003.
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts (Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 2–June 1, 2003. [exh. cat.]
Copley to Cassatt: Masterworks from the Terra Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, and Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, September 5–December 7, 2003.
Visages de l'Amérique: de George Washington à Marilyn Monroe (Faces of America: From George Washington to Marilyn Monroe), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2004. [exh. cat.]
Expanded Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, April 15, 2005–present.
Burroughs, A. "Catalogue of Works by Thomas Eakins (1869–1916)." The Arts (June 1924): 333. Text p. 333 (incorrectly dated as 1910).
Goodrich, Lloyd. "Catalogue of the Works of Thomas Eakins." The Bulletin, The Pennsylvania Museum of Art [now the Philadelphia Museum of Art] 25 (March 1930): 31. Text p. 31, no. 302.
Goodrich, Lloyd. Thomas Eakins: His Life and Works. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1933. Text p. 203, no. 440.
A Loan Exhibition of the Works of Thomas Eakins, 1844–1944, Commemorating the Centennial of his Birth. (exh. cat., M. Knoedler & Co.). New York: M. Knoedler & Co., 1944. Ill. no. 79.
Thomas Eakins Centennial Exhibition, 1844–1944. (exh. cat., Carnegie Institute). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Institute, Department of Fine Arts, 1945. Ill. no. 38.
19th and 20th Century American Paintings from Private Collections. (exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art). New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1972. Ill. no. 22.
Christie's, New York, New York (Sale SCHLÄPPI-8886, May 21, 1998): lot 33. Text p. 62; ill. p. 63, lot 33 (color).
Pinder, Kymberly N. Portrait of Thomas J. Eagan, Thomas Eakins. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 2001. Ill. (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 146, 195; ill. pp. 11 (color), 147 (color), 195 (black & white).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 146, 195; ill. pp. 11 (color), 147 (color), 195 (black & white).
Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 13; ill. p. 12 (color).
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 13; ill. p. 12 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Faces of America: Portraits of the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 14, 31 (checklist); ill. p. 45 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Visages de l'Amérique: le portrait dans la collection de la Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 14, 31 (checklist); ill. p. 45 (color).Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text p. 169; ill. p. 169 (color).
Wilmerding, John. Lens on American Art: The Depiction and Role of Eyeglasses. (exh. cat., Shelburne Museum). New York, New York: Rizzoli Electa, 2020. Text p. 91; pl. 41, p. 94 (color).
Goodrich, Lloyd. "Catalogue of the Works of Thomas Eakins." The Bulletin, The Pennsylvania Museum of Art [now the Philadelphia Museum of Art] 25 (March 1930): 31. Text p. 31, no. 302.
Goodrich, Lloyd. Thomas Eakins: His Life and Works. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1933. Text p. 203, no. 440.
A Loan Exhibition of the Works of Thomas Eakins, 1844–1944, Commemorating the Centennial of his Birth. (exh. cat., M. Knoedler & Co.). New York: M. Knoedler & Co., 1944. Ill. no. 79.
Thomas Eakins Centennial Exhibition, 1844–1944. (exh. cat., Carnegie Institute). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Institute, Department of Fine Arts, 1945. Ill. no. 38.
19th and 20th Century American Paintings from Private Collections. (exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art). New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1972. Ill. no. 22.
Christie's, New York, New York (Sale SCHLÄPPI-8886, May 21, 1998): lot 33. Text p. 62; ill. p. 63, lot 33 (color).
Pinder, Kymberly N. Portrait of Thomas J. Eagan, Thomas Eakins. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 2001. Ill. (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 146, 195; ill. pp. 11 (color), 147 (color), 195 (black & white).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 146, 195; ill. pp. 11 (color), 147 (color), 195 (black & white).
Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 13; ill. p. 12 (color).
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 13; ill. p. 12 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Faces of America: Portraits of the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 14, 31 (checklist); ill. p. 45 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Visages de l'Amérique: le portrait dans la collection de la Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 14, 31 (checklist); ill. p. 45 (color).Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text p. 169; ill. p. 169 (color).
Wilmerding, John. Lens on American Art: The Depiction and Role of Eyeglasses. (exh. cat., Shelburne Museum). New York, New York: Rizzoli Electa, 2020. Text p. 91; pl. 41, p. 94 (color).
There are no additional artworks by this artist in the collection.