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The Dancing Lesson

Thomas Eakins American
1878
Not on view
This watercolor shows three male figures of different generations playing and responding to music. A framed copy of the famous photograph of Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad suggests the figures' familial relationships and emphasizes their emancipation. This watercolor gained Eakins his first award—a silver medal—at the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association exhibition in Boston in 1878.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Dancing Lesson
  • Artist: Thomas Eakins (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1844–1916 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  • Date: 1878
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Watercolor on off-white wove paper
  • Dimensions: 18 1/16 x 22 9/16 in. (45.9 x 57.3 cm)
  • Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1925
  • Object Number: 25.97.1
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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