The Pathetic Song

Thomas Eakins

1881 · Watercolor on off-white wove paper · The American Wing

Eakins, the eminent Realist painter active in Philadelphia, apparently made only twenty-eight watercolors, of which all but three date from early in his career, between 1873 and 1882. During that time he was a frequent exhibitor at annual shows of the American Society of Painters in Water Colors and his work received favorable reviews. Eakins created this replica of his larger oil of the same title (1881; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.) as a gift for the friend who posed as the singer.

Artist

Thomas Eakins

Date

1881

Medium

Watercolor on off-white wove paper

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Bequest of Joan Whitney Payson, 1975