The Revenge of Thomas Eakins

by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick

Book Overview

Thomas Eakins was misunderstood in life, his brilliant work earned little acclaim, and hidden demons tortured and drove him. Yet the portraits he painted more than a century ago captivate us today,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300136447
• ISBN13: 9780300136449
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 565 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Superb

I have read and enjoyed several of Kirkpatrick's other books (on very different subjects), and was eager to see how he would handle a subject as complicated and controversial as Thomas Eakins. Through his telling of the Eakins story, the reader becomes privy to moments of nearly cosmic dimension as well as deep emotion. It's utterly convincing, lucid and intelligent, highly informative and extremely compelling. His most moving book to date.

A Complex Person Portrayed in a Well Done Book

When I picked up this very well done bio the little I knew about Eakins was the wonderful scull portraits, the shad fishing pictures and that a vague scandal surrounded his name. Now having read almost 500 pages, I want to know even more and there is a lot more to know. Kirkpatrick covers the whole life, giving balance to each stage. It is a full book. There is no "filler". The research and background knowledge of the author shine forth on every page. The author shows great restraint in sticking to the known facts, otherwise this would be a 1000+ page book! For instance, Eakins' fixation with the body, down to using mechanical contraptions on dead animals to demonstrate movement to students is factually presented. It is not sensationalized or psychoanalyzed. Similarly, whether Eakins was oblivious to or had discounted the consequences of asking so many females (again and again) to pose nude in this Victorian age is not discussed. The known instances of these invitations and the resulting alienation of those who said no, and the alienation of the friends and families of those that said yes are covered. With this background we learn the known facts of the tragedy of his niece Ella, and student Lillian, and about accusations regarding his sister Margaret. There are some documented opinions of family members, but the author stays with the known record. No wonder, the self portrait that adorns the cover shows a tortured man with barely restrained sadness and anger. It's ironic that the lack of appreciation for Eakin's works served to maintain the integrity of the collection for future generations. It's interesting that due to the nondescript Charles Bregler's collecting and acquiring memorabilia of his beloved teacher, today's researchers have a large collection of personal letters, photos and sketches to work with. This is a very readable book. It is rich in plates and photographs that illuminate the text. I am ready for another biography to take on the "whys" of this remarkable life.

Well-written, beautifully illustrated biography

I highly recommend this well-written, balanced biography of Thomas Eakins. It would be a perfect choice for readers with any level of familiarity with Eakins' paintings. I agree with the other reviewers that the book does an excellent job of placing Eakins' work in its historical context. Eakins emerges as a fascinating personality, and a guy who would have been great to know. In my opinion, Kirkpatrick deals honestly with the controversial aspects of Eakins' character, but without dwelling on them ad nauseum. I thought that the descriptions of the paintings themselves were especially effective. The book communicated exactly the information I wanted to read about for paintings like The Gross Clinic and Max Schmitt in a Single Scull: the main points of the design, the background and tecnhical details, the dramatic impact, and the pyschological levels. I have read very few biographies of artists that were this helpful. The book is generously and beautifully illustrated. There are 42 color plates, and each of those paintings is described in detail in the text. There are also a number of drawings, sketches, maps, and photographs (some taken by Eakins, and others of Eakins and his family and friends). The photos in particular (such as the one of Eakins, himself nude, carrying a nude female toward the camera) underscore the independent and controversial aspects of Eakins' character. This was a very enjoyable read, and a tribute to a great artist.

Another terrific read from Sidney Kirkpatrick

I'm a fan of Sidney Kirkpatrick's writing. In previous efforts that I've read he has revealed (usually having in fact discovered) amazing true drama from the lives of little known individual heroes in the middle of well-known enormous events; the story of an archeologist who happened upon the largest Pre-Columbian Peruvian art discovery, the story of a disenfranchised marine biologist who took on one of the largest drug dealers in the 1980's cocaine traffic trade, the story of a 75 year old film director who tried to resurrect his career by solving Hollywood's most famous unsolved murder, as well as an amazing biography of the Michael Jordan of psychics- Edgar Cayce. Kirkpatrick has a knack for identifying and tackling great drama and he writes it beautifully to boot. I knew of Thomas Eakins from his paintings of rowers on the Schuykill. From Kirkpatrick I was more properly introduced to Eakins and learned that he was a fiercely independent genius who was castigated, disgraced and impoverished. The Revenge of Thomas Eakins is an apt title. Eakins was just far too ahead of his time. Kirkpatrick's effortless style and attention to detail really drops you right into the mid to late 1800's, comfortably sharing the historical context along with development of Eakins. I recommend you read this one right away.

Fantastic Biography brings Eakins and his world to life.....

This is really the first book written that tells the full Thomas Eakins biography in context and gives all the details without the kind of filter that sometimes says more about the writer than it does about the subject. Kirkpatrick takes us back to turn-of-the-century America and allows us to see Eakins' life and work in the context of his times--and lets us make up our own minds. It is a wonderful read and an excellent biography for everybody-even those who don't know of Eakins or his work. I loved it!