Portrait of Mary Adeline Williams

Museum record 31285: Portrait of Mary Adeline Williams by Thomas Eakins. A verified entry point for discovery.

What to notice

For Portrait of Mary Adeline Williams (record 31285), start with modern, expressive, atmospheric. Compare the focal subject, edge treatment, and atmosphere before moving on.

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Thomas Eakins aimed to paint the human figure with uncompromising realism, executing likenesses that focus on introspection and psychological depth. A family friend, Mary Adeline Williams sat for this portrait in 1899, a year before she would move into the Philadelphia home of Eakins and his wife, artist Susan MacDowell Eakins. Although the composition presents Addie (as she was known) as straight-laced and severe, she was described by Susan Eakins as active and engaged—riding bicycles, going to art exhi…