Thomas Eakins

Thomas Eakins is one of those artists that you're probably not familiar with but whose works are immediately recognizable. Despite his great skill as a painter, which is evident in the beautifully reproduced plates, he was unappreciated and his work was mostly ignored in his lifetime. Never discouraged, he continued producing controversial (and stunning) works that were years ahead of their time.But it is Eakins' private (and sometimes not so private) life that makes this book a real page-turner. Being an art instructor teaching nude drawing to boys and girls in Victorian-era Philadelphia put Eakins in a moral minefield in which he, naively or willfully, chose to run and dance through. It would have been easy to make a soap opera of Eakins' biography (he certainly provided enough script) but Alice Carter tells his story with sympathy and compassion. In much the same way that Eakins painted his portraits, she skillfully selects the personal details and human touches that capture the subject's personality. Highly recommended.

Alice Carter has written an extremely informative and wonderfullyentertaining book for Abrams. The Essential Series has added a `must have' volume to its library. I was completely surprised to find a thoroughly detailed and revealing biography in this handy format. Eakins' prolific output and tumultuous teaching career is perfectly documented by Carter with care, compassion, and, when appropriate, quite humorously. Carter has done an excellent job distilling a very complicated life of one of America's finest painters and art teachers.The reproductions of Eakins' drawings, paintings, and photographscouldn't be better. Congratulations to Carter and thanks to Abrams, this is a fine book at a great price. I think the ever critical Eakins would have agreed.