Thomas Eakins’s “The Concert Singer” is on view at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) where it will remain for approximately one year in PAFA’s historic landmark building.
Arguably one of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s (PMA) finest paintings by Eakins, “The Concert Singer” is on loan to PAFA, replacing Eakins’ “The Gross Clinic,” which is jointly owned by PAFA and the PMA. Per a purchase agreement, “The Gross Clinic” alternates on an equal basis between the two institutions, and the PMA is to lend PAFA a significant work by Eakins whenever “The Gross Clinic” is not on view there.
Amid controversy and concern, “The Gross Clinic” was purchased after Thomas Jefferson University announced in November 2006 that it would be sold for $68 million to the National Gallery of Art and the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Ark. Local institutions were given 45 days to match the sale price, and fundraising efforts were launched with a communitywide appeal; major support from large private charitable organizations as well as more than 3,400 donors in all 50 states contributed to the effort that resulted in the painting staying in Philadelphia.
Eakins’s art is closely associated with Philadelphia, the city where he spent his entire career. A consistent and uncompromising realist, he drew the material for his art almost completely from the life of his community. In the early 1860s while a student at PAFA, he also took courses in anatomy and dissection at Jefferson Medical College.
When the historic landmark building opened in 1876, Eakins volunteered to take over the life classes. In 1882 he was appointed director of the school, introducing new methods, discarding the old, requiring long apprenticeships in drawing from antique casts, and basing the curriculum on a thorough study of the nude. Anatomy was stressed, a dissecting room started in the school, and the students were encouraged to paint from the very beginning. Under his directorship the school became one of the most progressive and successful in the country.
From his youth Eakins was surrounded by music, and though his own vocal lessons ended in frustration, he created 19 paintings of musical themes. These subjects range from piano recitals at home to cowboys singing and concert performances. “The Concert Singer” is a portrait of Weda Cook, a Philadelphia singing sensation, in her mid-20s.
The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts is at 118-128 North Broad Street. For information, www.pafa.org or 215-972-7600.
