Sketch for Seventy Years Ago
probably 1877
Thomas Eakins
Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1844; died Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1916
Eakins began his creations by quickly sketching out a subject as he envisioned it in his mind’s eye. For this artist, the most creative moments were those that took place in his imagination.
The idea for this historical subject from America’s colonial past began to take shape around 1876, the country’s centennial year. The grandmother image represented a living connection to the country’s past. Eakins treated the subject in a group of paintings and also in one of his most important relief sculptures, a work he titled Knitting—a plaster cast of the sculpture was generously donated to the museum.
Oil on canvas mounted on composite board and wood strainer
12 1/8 x 9 3/8 in. x 1/4 (with strainer, 7/8 in thick)
Gift of an anonymous donor
2006.138
Provenance: The artist and his widow, Susan Macdowell Eakins (1851-1938), Philadelphia; presented to the artist's student, Charles Bregler (1865-1958), Philadelphia, 1916-after 1939; private collection, Virginia and Florida; by bequest to donor
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
