Thomas Eakins, realist painter of the late 19th century America by Kaye Spencer

When I think of artists whose paintings and sculptures captured the essence of the American West, the names that come to mind are:

Charles Russell (1864-1926) His dramatic representations usually show men on horseback.

"Bronc to Breakfast" - Charles Russell

  George Catlin (1796-1872) His work was predominantly concerned with the Native Americans.

"Tipis" - George Catlin

Thomas Moran (1837-1926) His paintings focused on western landscapes.

"Green River Wyoming" - Thomas Moran

 Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) His paintings leaned toward sweeping, romantic landscapes.

"Prong-horned Antelope" - Albert Bierstadt

Frederick Remington (1861-1909) His artistic talents leaned toward paintings and sculptures involving cavalry officers, Native Americans, and horses. He provided illustrations of the American West for magazines.

"Fight for the Waterhole" - Frederick Remington

   To this esteemed list, I would add the Philadelphia native, Thomas Eakins (1844-1909).

Thomas Eakins self-portrait

His works, while not strictly focused on the west, are a more well-rounded study of the human condition of the time, albeit, the ‘eastern’ time

Thomas Eakins

Life in the American east and in Europe influenced the happenings in the west. The fashions, medicine and medical milestones, transportation, sports, leisure, and the day-to-day living “back east” had eventual impacts on life out west, and Thomas Eakins’ paintings show us those connections. For me, the ‘life’ he painted and preserved on canvas and his photography tell a broader story of what real life was like back then.

Thomas Eakins

 

Thomas Eakins

 
Eakins was a realist painter, photographer, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. Other than trips abroad, he lived his life in his home town of Philadelphia, and the subjects of his art were the people around him. Eakins was a ‘colorful’ character for all of his 71 years, and he possessed a life-long passion for the human body as the ultimate art form. This information from Wikipedia sums up his work and his philosophy as a teacher:


He painted several hundred portraits, usually of friends, family members, or prominent people in the arts, sciences, medicine, and clergy. Taken en masse, the portraits offer an overview of the intellectual life of Philadelphia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; individually, they are incisive depictions of thinking persons.

He believed that women should "assume professional privileges" as would men. Life classes and dissection were segregated but women had access to male models (who were nude but for loincloths).

Controversy shaped much of his career as a teacher and as an artist. He insisted on teaching men and women "the same", used nude male models in female classes and vice versa…

"Home Ranch" - Thomas Eakins -  I often used this painting as a creative writing prompt when I taught writing classes.

"Four-in-Hand - May Morning in the Park" - Thomas Eakins

"Cowboys in the Badlands" - Thomas Eakins

  
I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art a few years ago and view the Thomas Eakins exhibit. (yes, THAT museum with the “Rocky” stairs) So for fun, here’s a picture of me and Rocky.

Kaye Spencer with the Rocky statue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2009)

 
For more information about Thomas Eakins, I would direct you to the website devoted to his life and works — http://www.thomaseakins.org/ — and to this book, The Revenge of Thomas Eakins by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick.

Until next time,

Kaye

www.kayespencer.com
Twitter - @kayespencer

Note: The images included in this post are in the Public Domain and can be found through the Google Art Project, which is an “online platform through which the public can access high-resolution images of artworks housed in the initiative's partner museums.” Some images are Kaye’s that she took while visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art in June 2009.

THE UNEXPECTED WEST

I admit. I'm an Eastern greenhorn.

I was born/raised in Michigan, a state known for its “leafies” – oaks, maples, elms, birches, and that’s just on my street. Michigan has bountiful trees and lakes. Green and blue are the primary colors here. But I loved the idea of visiting the west.

On my first ever trip past the Missouri River in 2002, my husband (who'd been born in Colorado and visited out west several times), my daughter and I decided to hit a few landmarks along the way. The Corn Palace was one, since I’d run across that oddity (to me) on some type of “Don’t Miss” travel tips. Amazing. We stared at the outer walls, the detailed panels, and toured the exhibits inside. Wow. And all for the birds... and squirrels, or whatever.

Wall Drugs was another, of course, due to all the signs we’d seen starting in Wisconsin. Mount Rushmore, too. I was stunned that we could glimpse part of the massive stone heads from the highway. We also drove through Custer State Park to see buffalo (from a distance, I'm not that stupid!) and hoped to see a moose or two. Nope. We saw prairie dogs, hundreds of them. I could have watched them pop in and out of their holes for hours. Cute little buggers. No moose in Yellowstone, which was to be the highlight of our trip when we planned it. 

But... But! Or should I say BUTTE? We all were far more fascinated by the Badlands. We loved it. 

And I mean big time “l-o-v-e” as in “we have GOT to stop here on the way home again” love. Totally unexpected.

Why? Well... Sure, the Badlands have a ‘rugged beauty’ and ‘striking geologic deposits’ according to the National Park website. It’s nice to know that ‘ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse and saber-toothed cat once roamed here.’ Yes, it’s astonishing that it covers almost a quarter of a million acres, that it includes mixed-grass prairie. And that ‘bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets live there today.’ All nice to know.

I think it was the unspoiled nature. There were few trails. Few guideposts explaining the area. No fences, from what I recall. We stood there, staring, as if we'd been transported back into a timeless past. I can't explain it any better than that. And photographs don't do it justice.

My husband found a side road off Interstate 90. We drove to the rim of the Badlands, near a ranch -- I was so jealous, thinking of someone living right on the edge of this stunning gift from God. We parked. Got out of the car. Stepped to the edge. Of course we didn't try to make our way down (not stupid, not us.) Just gazed out across the miles and miles of incredible wind and water shaped rock formations.

I tried to include this feeling in my own writing, when Lily (born/raised near Chicago) sees the West for the first time in Double Crossing. The endless prairie, the Rockies, Donner Lake, California. But... But sometimes words just don't do that feeling justice.

So I found this painting by Thomas Eakins, of two cowboys standing on the rim of the Badlands. Maybe these two considered it a barrier to where they wanted to go. Maybe they stood in awe like my family did. Maybe those unexpected wonders are the best feelings of all.

Here's a brief excerpt from Double Crossing, with Lily and Ace -- the sequel Double or Nothing will be out soon.

“I shouldn’t be out here with you. Alone.”

“Is that right.” Ace scratched his stubbly chin. “I won’t bite.”

“I don’t feel comfortable at this altitude.” I twisted to face the view. No doubt he would try to kiss me again despite his boyish mask of innocence. “These sheds make me nervous. Did you say it might snow? I ought to get my oilcloth cape, I’m so cold.”

“Here, this might help.”

He draped his fringed buckskin coat around my shoulders and then gripped the rail on either side of my hands, his warmth behind me. Ace didn’t brush his rough jaw against my neck or press against me. I leaned back and realized he’d left space between us. Perhaps he was learning manners after all. We stood there for several minutes in companionable silence until the weathered boards came to an end.

“Oh!”

Breathless at the gorgeous view, I drank in the deep blue lake nestled between sloping shoulders of green. Thick pines marched along the shoreline. Gleaming snow frosted the high, rocky peaks on all sides. How strange that such a beautiful place could be so far away where few people would see, unless they traveled along this rail line. Ace leaned toward my ear.

“Donner Lake. Wagon train got stranded over winter twenty some years ago.”

“I read about the trial of those who chose cannibalism in the newspaper, Mr. Diamond,” I said. “Don’t remind me now and spoil the view....”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meg Mims is an award-winning author and artist. Her first book, Double Crossing, won the 2012 Spur Award for Best First Novel from Western Writers of America and was named a Finalist in the Best Books of 2012 from USA Book News for Fiction: Western. 

Meg also wrote two contemporary romance novellas, The Key to Love, and Santa Paws – which reached #6 on the Amazon Kindle Bestseller list for Dogs.