Study for "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River"  1877

Best known for his realist portraits and scenes of contemporary life, Thomas Eakins also spent considerable energy on history paintings. Here, he executed a study for a painting that celebrates an early American sculptor, William Rush. In the finished painting, Rush is depicted carving his [i]Water Nymph and Bittern[/i] (1809), for which the model poses; the statue adorned...