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''William Rush and His Model'' is the collective name given to several paintings 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 ...
, one set from 1876–77 and the other from 1908. These works depict the American wood sculptor William Rush in 1808, carving his statue ''Water Nymph and Bittern'' for a fountain at Philadelphia's first
waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
. The
water nymph In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who ...
is an
allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
figure representing the
Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...
, which provided the city's drinking water, and on her shoulder is a
bittern Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern ...
, a native waterbird related to the heron. Hence, these Eakins works are also known as ''William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River''.


''Nymph and Bittern''

Philadelphia's first waterworks was located at Centre Square, now the site of
Philadelphia City Hall Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia. ...
. Steam engines drew drinking water from the Schuylkill River and pumped it up to tanks in the engine house tower, from which it was distributed by gravity through underground mains to the city. Rush, a carver of ship figureheads, was commissioned in 1808 to carve an allegorical statue to be the centerpiece of an ornamental fountain. His
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
statue was painted white to imitate marble, and its water jet gushed from the mouth of the bittern held atop the nymph's shoulder. Art historian Elizabeth Milroy notes that the nymph's pose recalls the ''
Venus de' Medici The Venus de' Medici or Medici Venus is a tall Hellenistic marble sculpture depicting the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite. It is a 1st-century BC marble copy, perhaps made in Athens, of a bronze original Greek sculpture, following the type of th ...
'', a copy of which was owned by a Philadelphia painter. Local legend tells that the daughter of a Watering Committee member posed as Rush's model. When the Centre Square waterworks was demolished in 1829, the statue was relocated to a fountain at the nearby Fairmount Waterworks. Following more than 60 years of exposure to water and the elements, ''Nymph and Bittern'' was stripped of its white paint in 1872, and a bronze copy was cast. The copy became the centerpiece of a new fountain at Fairmount, and the rotting original was placed in storage.


Eakins and Rush

Eakins's interest in William Rush originated from a desire to restore Rush's name to prominence in the history of American art. Eakins taught at the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1995, 287 the painting may be viewed as Eakins's demonstration of the importance of studying anatomy from nudes. Eakins was able to study both versions of the statue, and his notes document the deteriorated condition of the wooden original. Only its head survives, in the collection of the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As part of his process of creating the painting, Eakins carved wax studies of the nymph, her head, Rush's head, the nude model, and the other Rush sculptures depicted. Five of the six wax studies survive, in the collection of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
(PMA).


Studies

At
Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...
is what appears to be an abandoned version of the painting (G-111), presumed to pre-date the finished version at PMA. This is sometimes called a study, but it is almost the same size as the finished version, contains the same figures (although the chaperone faces a different direction), and was never displayed during Eakins's lifetime. At the
Farnsworth Art Museum The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, United States, is an art museum that specializes in American art. Its permanent collection includes works by such artists as Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, Thomas Eakins, Eastman Johnson, Fitz Henry La ...
in
Rockland, Maine Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 6,936. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination. It is a departure point for the Maine State ...
, is an oil study for another composition (G-110). The model stands on a higher pedestal, and the chaperone has been placed between the model and Rush. Judging from a photograph in a 1938 auction catalogue, G-110 seems to be cut down from a larger study.


Finished version

The finished version of ''William Rush and His Model'' (G-109,
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
) has the model slightly rotated, and the chaperone to the model's right, facing Rush. In the foreground, between Rush and the model, stands a chair conspicuously displaying the model's clothes. Rush's life-sized figure of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
(1815), and his ''Allegorical Figure of The Waterworks'' (1825)—a reclining female figure manipulating a waterwheel—are visible in the background. Although the painting is historically inaccurate—Rush carved ''Water Nymph and Bittern'' in 1808, and the other statues years later—Eakins's intent seems to have been to present a survey of the sculptor's whole career. The painting was first exhibited in January 1878 at the
Boston Art Club The Boston Art Club, Boston, Massachusetts, serves to help its members, as well as non-members, to access the world of fine art. It currently has more than 250 members. History The Boston Art Club was first conceived in Boston in 1854 with the co ...
, and later that year at the
Society of American Artists The Society of American Artists was an American artists group. It was formed in 1877 by artists who felt the National Academy of Design did not adequately meet their needs, and was too conservative. The group began meeting in 1874 at the home of ...
in New York. It immediately sparked controversy with one New York reviewer writing, "What ruins the picture is much less the want of beauty in the model ... than the presence in the foreground of the clothes of that young woman, cast carelessly over a chair. This gives the shock which makes one think about the nudity—and at once the picture becomes improper."


Sketches and preparatory studies

File:Eakins G109 Nymph With Bittern.jpg, Sketch of Water Nymph and Bittern (1876),
Hirshhorn Museum The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was desi ...
. File:Eakins G109 Schuykill Freed.jpg, Sketch of The Waterworks (1876),
Hirshhorn Museum The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was desi ...
. File:Eakins G109 Washington.jpg, Sketch of George Washington (1876),
Hirshhorn Museum The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was desi ...
. File:William Rush study G498 2.jpg, Wax study of the Nymph's head (1876),
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
. File:William Rush study G498 4.jpg, Wax study of Water Nymph and Bittern (1876),
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
. File:William Rush study G498 6.jpg, Wax study of The Waterworks (1876),
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
. File:William Rush study G498 5.jpg, Wax study of George Washington (1876),
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
. File:William Rush study G498 3.jpg, Wax study of Rush's head (1876),
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
. Based on Rush's self-portrait bust at the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
. File:William Rush G111.png, G-111. Unfinished alternate version or study for G-109 (1876),
Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...
. File:Farnsworth LOC P18660106 b.jpg, G-110. Compositional study (circa 1877),
Farnsworth Art Museum The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, United States, is an art museum that specializes in American art. Its permanent collection includes works by such artists as Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, Thomas Eakins, Eastman Johnson, Fitz Henry La ...
. This seems to be cut down from a larger study. File:Study for 'William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River', 1876.jpg, G-113. Study for G-110 or G-109 (1876),
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
.


1908 versions

For unspecified reasons—possibly related to the statue's approaching centennial—Eakins returned to this subject in 1908. His first 1908 version (G-445, now in the
Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...
) is similar to the PMA version, however, Rush and his statue have been moved to the far right, the chaperone is to the model's left, facing the viewer, and the pile of the model's clothes has been eliminated. This is the least successful composition, with little visual connection between Rush and the model. The second 1908 version (G-451, in the
Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. The museum has one of the largest single col ...
) shows a frontal view of the nude model descending the platform. She is neither idealized nor sentimentalized.Johnson, 1978, p. 21. Rush is now out of the shadows and holding the model's hand as if helping a grand lady descend from a carriage. The chaperone and background sculptures are omitted from this version. The figure of Rush may be a self-portrait by Eakins.


Preparatory studies

File:William Rush Carving his Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River G447.jpg, G-447. Sketch for G-445 (1908),
Hirshhorn Museum The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was desi ...
. File:Eakins Study for Rush G449.jpg, G-449. Study of Rush for G-445 (1908), private collection. File:The Chaperone - Thomas Eakins - G450.jpg, G-450. Study for G-445 (1908),
National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
. File:Sketch for William Rush and His Model.jpg, G-439 (verso). Sketch for G-451 (1908),
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
. File:William Rush and his Model by Thomas Eakins.png, G-454. Study for G-451 (1908), Ex collection:
Hirshhorn Museum The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was desi ...
. File:William Rush's Model.jpg, G-453. Study for G-451 (1908),
Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...
. File:The Model G452.jpg, G-452. Study for G-451 (1908), private collection. Promised gift to
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 ...
.The Model
from Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.


References

* Ellis, George R., ''Honolulu Academy of Arts, Selected Works'', Honolulu, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1990, 227. * Ellis, George R. and Marcia Morse, ''A Hawaii Treasury, Masterpieces from the Honolulu Academy of Arts'', Tokyo, Asahi Shimbun, 2000, 110 & 211–2. * Johnson, Lincoln F., The Beginning of Modernism, ''Honolulu Academy of Arts Journal'', Vol. 3, 1978, 17–23. * Milroy, Elizabeth, ''The Grid and the River: Philadelphia's Green Places, 1682–1876''. University Park. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2016. * Philadelphia Museum of Art, ''Handbook of the Collections'', Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1995, 287. * Sewell, Darrel (Ed.), ''Thomas Eakins''. Yale University Press, 2001, 332.


Footnotes

{{Eakins 1876 paintings 1908 paintings Rush, William Paintings in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Paintings about sculpture