Celebrating The American Wing: American Portraits | Explore & Learn

The Writing Master, 1882
Thomas Eakins (1844–1916)
Oil on canvas; 30 x 34 1/4 in. (76.2 x 87.0 cm)
John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1917 (17.173)

The Thinker: Portrait of Louis N. Kenton, 1900
Thomas Eakins (1844–1916)
Oil on canvas; 82 x 42 in. (208.3 x 106.7 cm)
John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1917 (17.172)

Eakins often used family members as his portrait subjects. His father, Benjamin Eakins (1818–1899), sat for him several times. The elder Eakins was a writing master, teaching the old copperplate style of calligraphy in the city's schools and engrossing deeds, diplomas, and other documents. The Writing Master and The Thinker, although painted many years apart, betray the artist's interest in probing the sitter's mind in his portraits.

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