Lot Essay
Among the greatest portrait painters of the late nineteenth century, Thomas Eakins found artistic inspiration in the subject of the individual, and throughout his life was drawn to subjects of unusual character and achievement. Eakins' focus sharpened considerably after 1885 when he resigned from his teaching position at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and began to devote himself almost exclusively to portrait painting. His sitters were friends who peopled his personal world, professionals he knew and admired in the intellectual, religious and artistic circles of Philadelphia.
Eakins painted his portrait of Robert C. Ogden in 1904, a year in which he produced several other superb portraits including those of William R. Hallowell, Mrs. Edith Mahon and Samuel Myers. Ogden was a merchant, philanthropist, and educational worker who was also involved with the Union Theological Seminary. Reflecting on his life, friends noted they found in him "sagacity and moral strength." ("Honor the Memory of Robert C. Ogden," The New York Times, 27 Oct. 1913) Eakins chose to portray Ogden in a full-length portrait, seated and pensive to convey the sitter's accomplishment. In the present work as with almost every picture Eakins painted, light is the essential agent in defining form. With it, he selectively highlights key elements of his sitter's anatomy such as his hand and face. The richly detailed carpet and tapestry allude to Ogden's wealth and thus his success as a merchant.
Breaking from the Victorian and Impressionist modes of portraiture fashionable in American art of the period, in this portrait Eakins places himself within an art historical lineage of the Dutch and Spanish Old Masters, while incorporating his personal vision of academic realism and a uniquely American spirit, making him one of the most ground-breaking portraitists of his time.
Eakins painted his portrait of Robert C. Ogden in 1904, a year in which he produced several other superb portraits including those of William R. Hallowell, Mrs. Edith Mahon and Samuel Myers. Ogden was a merchant, philanthropist, and educational worker who was also involved with the Union Theological Seminary. Reflecting on his life, friends noted they found in him "sagacity and moral strength." ("Honor the Memory of Robert C. Ogden," The New York Times, 27 Oct. 1913) Eakins chose to portray Ogden in a full-length portrait, seated and pensive to convey the sitter's accomplishment. In the present work as with almost every picture Eakins painted, light is the essential agent in defining form. With it, he selectively highlights key elements of his sitter's anatomy such as his hand and face. The richly detailed carpet and tapestry allude to Ogden's wealth and thus his success as a merchant.
Breaking from the Victorian and Impressionist modes of portraiture fashionable in American art of the period, in this portrait Eakins places himself within an art historical lineage of the Dutch and Spanish Old Masters, while incorporating his personal vision of academic realism and a uniquely American spirit, making him one of the most ground-breaking portraitists of his time.