Susan Macdowell Eakins

Education She was 25 when she met Thomas Eakins at the Hazeltine Gallery where his painting The Gross Clinic was being exhibited in 1876. It was also shown at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.

Unlike many, she was impressed by the controversial painting and she decided to study with him at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, which she attended for six years. At that time Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts was considered the best art school in the United States.

Her sister, Elizabeth, studied at the academy beginning in 1876, too. Other female art students included Mary Cassatt, Cecilia Beaux, Emily Sartain, and Alice Barber Stephens. They received a good education in art, but were restricted from painting nude male models. As director of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Eakins had made the decision to use female and male nude models for the life studies classes for students of both genders. As a result of recriminations, he was asked to resign one year after their marriage. Even though he had support from some family and friends, it was a life-changing event that affected relationships in their lives and the Eakins' enthusiasm for life. The couple had no children.

Career Eakins painted portraits, many of which included family members, and scenes of domestic life. In 1898 she became a member and exhibited her works at the Philadelphia Photographic Salon,

After Thomas Eakin's death in 1916, she returned to painting, working nearly every day, adding considerably to her output. Her paintings were made in a style that became warmer, looser, and brighter in tone.

Legacy It was not until 35 years after her death, in 1973, that she had her first major exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1976, her work was included in the Nineteenth Century Women Artists exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

In September and October 1977, an exhibition was held of the photographs and paintings of Susan, her sister Elizabeth and husband Thomas in Roanoke, Virginia at the North Cross School.

Works Her works included:

Alfred Reynolds, oil on artist board, 1880-1900 Anguish, oil, 1916 Anna Hyatt Caldwell, oil. Mrs. Caldwell was the wife of Joseph Ralston Caldwell and died in 1935 Artist and Model, oil Boy in Orange Shirt, oil Chaperone, watercolor on paper, 1879 Child's Head, oil Clarence Cranmer, oil, 1920-1925 Dancers, oil, David Wilson Jordon, oil, Palmer Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State University Dora Adelman, oil, 1935 Double Figure Study, oil Dr. William N. Bradley, oil, 1934 Edward Coles (1786-1868), oil, 1883, Chicago Historical Society Fruit and Flower Arrangement, oil, Gentleman and Dog, oil, 1878, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia Girl in Yellow Blouse (seated), oil on canvas Girl in Yellow Blouse (standing), oil on canvas Girl Reading, oil, Girl Reading, oil, 1925-1930 Girls Head from the Rear, oil, Grandfather Macdowell, oil, 1879 Hannah Macdowell and Sister, oil, 1882 Hannah Trimble Gardner Macdowell, oil, 1880-1885 Joanna Wnukowska Kowalewski, oil, 1933 Kate Lewis, oil, 1884, Allentown Art Museum Landscape, oil Lenore Adelman, oil, 1933 Leroy Ireland, oil on canvas, 1910, Brooklyn Museum of Art Lewis Sisters (at home), oil, 1932 Luigi Maratti, oil on canvas, 1932 Margaret Eakins, watercolor, Mrs. King, watercolor, 1879 Murray with Barry Statue, watercolor on paper Music, oil on linen covered board, , Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Old Fashioned Dress, oil, 1880 Old Man, Portrait Sketch, oil, Paul Crenshaw Physick, MD, oil, University of Pennsylvania Peonies, oil, 1925 Pierre Menard, 1766 - 1844, oil on canvas, Chicago History Museum Portrait of a Bearded Man, oil, 1932, Kennedy Galleries, New York, New York Portrait of a Lady, oil, 1880 Portrait of a Man, oil, 1920-1930 Portrait of a Philadelphia Lady, 1890s Portrait of a Soldier, oil, 1917 Portrait of a Woman, oil, Portrait of Charles Bregler, oil on canvas, 1920s, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Portrait of David Wilson Jordan, oil, Palmer Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State University Portrait of Thomas Eakins s, oil, , Philadelphia Museum of Art Reflections, oil, 1881 Roseanna Williams, oil on wood panel, 1879, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Roseanna Williams, watercolor, 1879 Sculptor and Model, oil, 1924 Seated Girl in Tunic, oil, 1920-1930 Seated Old Woman Reading, oil Spinning, watercolor, Still Life, oil, Still Life: Dish, Vegetable and Fruit, oil Study of Cello Player, oil, Study of a Man Study of Susan, oil Susan and Elizabeth Macdowell (self-portrait), oil, 1879 Susan and Elizabeth Macdowell (self-portrait), oil, 1910-1920 Susan and Elizabeth Macdowell (self-portrait), oil, 1925 Susan Hannah Macdowell Eakins (self-portrait as a child), oil, after 1861 Susan Hannah Macdowell Eakins (self-portrait), oil, , private collection Tennis Player, oil, 1933 The Bibliophile, oil, 1932 The Spinners (Three Fates), oil on masonite Thomas Cadwalader, 1795 - 1873, oil, 1882 Thomas Cowperthwaite Eakins, oil, Thomas Eakins Working at an Easel, oil on board, early to mid 1880s, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Two Ladies and Dog, oil, Two Sisters, oil on canvas, 1879 Unidentified Girl, oil, Unidentified Man, oil, 1880-1900 Unidentified Woman, oil Walter Gardner Macdowell, oil, 1880-1930 Watchful Guardian, oil, 1878 William H. Macdowell, Portrait Sketch oil, 1880-1881 William H. Macdowell, oil, 1881 William Pepper (1810-1864) oil, 1883, University of Pennsylvania Woman in a Plain Shawl, oil on canvas, Woman in Profile, oil, Woman Reading, oil on canvas, 1879-1884 Woman Seated, oil, 1880, was in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III Woman with Book, oil