Baby at Play

1876 · Painting

Particulars

1870–1916 · Workplace
Philadelphia
1874
Engaged to Kathrin Crowell
Eakins became engaged to Kathrin Crowell, the sitter of his first large portrait; the engagement lasted five years, until her death.
1875
Meets Susan Macdowell
At the Hazeltine Gallery, where “The Gross Clinic” was on show, Eakins met the 25-year-old Susan Macdowell, daughter of a Philadelphia engraver. Unlike many, she was impressed by the painting and went to study with him at the Academy for six years, winning the Mary Smith Prize for the best painting by a woman student.
1876
Centennial Exhibition: “The Gross Clinic” rejected
The committee of the Centennial Exhibition rejected “The Gross Clinic” for the Art Gallery — it was shown in an exhibit of a U.S. Army Post Hospital — while “The Chess Players” was accepted, much admired and praised by critics. One reviewer knew of nothing greater ever executed in America, but the blood on the canvas troubled the public, and the college finally bought the picture for just $200.
1876
Begins teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy
After the Academy's new building designed by Frank Furness opened, Eakins returned to teach there, at first as a volunteer; in 1878 he became a salaried professor.