Often censured during his lifetime for his insistence on studying and painting from the nude, Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) is now acclaimed as one of America's greatest realist painters. This book examines Eakin's art and life, illustrating how th artist used his canvases to cope with the complex requirements of Victorian gender. The author reads a series of Eakin's paintings, ranging from early to late works, giving a nuanced and elegant examination of Eakin's portrayal of white, middle-class manhood. This provocative cultural art history treats these paintings in terms of what they reveal about Eakin's own identity as well as the nation's changing ideals of manhood during the final years of the 19th century.

About the Author

Martin Berger teaches Art History and English at SUNY, Buffalo.