Study for "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River"

Museum record 28860: Study for "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River" by Thomas Eakins. A verified entry point for discover…

What to notice

For Study for "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River" (record 28860), start with modern, expressive, atmospheric. Compare the focal subject, edge treatment, and atmosphere before moving on.

Discover

Best known for his realist portraits and scenes of contemporary life, Thomas Eakins also spent considerable energy on history paintings. Here, he executed a study for a painting that celebrates an early American sculptor, William Rush. In the finished painting, Rush is depicted carving his Water Nymph and Bittern (1809), for which the model poses; the statue adorned a public square in Philadelphia, the hometown of both artists. Eakins, an ardent advocate of studying from life, highlights this artistic wo…