The ''Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand'' is an 1874 painting by
Thomas Eakins
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artists.
For the length ...
. It is an
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
on
canvas that depicts
Benjamin H. Rand, a doctor at
Jefferson Medical College
Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the unive ...
who taught Eakins anatomy.
History and description
In this painting, Rand is reading a book while petting a cat.
The portrait was the first Eakins made of someone outside his family.
[Adams, Henry (2005). ''Eakins Revealed: The Secret Life of an American Artist.'' Oxford University Press, ] It is a prelude to what he considered his most important painting, ''
The Gross Clinic
''The Gross Clinic'' or ''The Clinic of Dr. Gross'' is an 1875 painting by American artist Thomas Eakins. It is oil on canvas and measures by .
The painting depicts Dr. Samuel D. Gross, a seventy-year-old professor dressed in a black frock coat, ...
'' (1875).
Rand donated it to Jefferson Medical College when he retired. It was subsequently purchased by
Alice L. Walton
Alice Louise Walton (born October 7, 1949) is an American heiress to the fortune of Walmart. In September 2016, she owned over in Walmart shares. As of October 2022, Walton has a net worth of $59 billion, making her the 19th-richest person, and ...
for an estimated US$20 million in April 2007, to be housed at the
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum of American art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum, founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on 11 November 2011. It offers free public admission.
Overview ...
.
[Vogel, Carol (April 12, 2007). Philadelphia School Sells a Second Eakins. '']New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''
See also
*
List of works by Thomas Eakins
This is a list of professionally authenticated paintings, drawings, and sculptures by Thomas Eakins (1844–1916). As there is no catalogue raisonné of Eakins' works, this is an aggregation of existing published catalogs.
Background
During ...
References
External links
''Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand''via the Eakins Gallery
{{Eakins
1874 paintings
Rand
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finan ...
Rand
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finan ...
Collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Rand
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finan ...
Cats in art
Books in art