The Essential: Thomas Eakins (Essential (Harry N. Abrams)) [Hardcover]

Alice A. Carter (Author)

Book Description

Series: Essential (Harry N. Abrams) | Publication Date: September 1, 2001

The Essentials Series.
During Thomas Eakins's lifetime, it was his controversial teaching methods and not his splendid paintings that drew the most attention. Today this extraordinary painter, gifted sculptor, and innovative photographer is hailed as a master of realism in the tradition of Velázquez. This lively portrait comes just in time for a retrospective exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This series is geared to the needs of the armchair art lover eager to broaden his or her knowledge of the art world without having to wade through lengthy and sometimes pretentious tomes. Past titles have focused on artists as disparate as Hieronymous Bosch, John James Audubon, Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol, and Cindy Sherman, and all have followed a fairly similar formula. Look here for art history "lite," with no indexing and no attempt to appear scholarly but lots of good illustrations. There are stylistic differences among the individual writers, some of whom have better qualifications than others. For example, Chollet's previous writing experiences have been limited to screenplays (Seven Years in Tibet), and the Cassatt book can be maddening because of the author's preoccupation with feminist issues. Sidebars, called "Sound Bytes," include pertinent quotes by or about each artist profiled including a pitch from actor Brad Pitt speaking as an authority on Louis Comfort Tiffany. Given the books' small size (an easily stolen 6" square) and the likelihood that most libraries would already have material on these artists, none should be considered a necessary purchase. Margarete Gross, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

Exhibition Schedule: Philadelphia Museum of Art Sept. 2001-Jan. 2002, Musée d' Orsay, Paris Feb.-May 2002, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, June-Sept. 2002

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810958309
• ISBN-13: 978-0810958302
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,080,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Realism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Art, Sex, and Scandal: The Life of Thomas Eakins, December 15, 2001

By 

Alejandro Garcia "algarcia.org" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential: Thomas Eakins (Essential (Harry N. Abrams)) (Hardcover)

Thomas Eakins is one of those artists that you're probably not familiar with but whose works are immediately recognizable. Despite his great skill as a painter, which is evident in the beautifully reproduced plates, he was unappreciated and his work was mostly ignored in his lifetime. Never discouraged, he continued producing controversial (and stunning) works that were years ahead of their time.

But it is Eakins' private (and sometimes not so private) life that makes this book a real page-turner. Being an art instructor teaching nude drawing to boys and girls in Victorian-era Philadelphia put Eakins in a moral minefield in which he, naively or willfully, chose to run and dance through.

It would have been easy to make a soap opera of Eakins' biography (he certainly provided enough script) but Alice Carter tells his story with sympathy and compassion. In much the same way that Eakins painted his portraits, she skillfully selects the personal details and human touches that capture the subject's personality. Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carter's Wonderful New Work -- a great read, November 5, 2001

By 

michael snell (naples, fl usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential: Thomas Eakins (Essential (Harry N. Abrams)) (Hardcover)

Alice Carter has written an extremely informative and wonderfully
entertaining book for Abrams. The Essential Series has added a `must have' volume to its library. I was completely surprised to find a thoroughly detailed and revealing biography in this handy format.
Eakins' prolific output and tumultuous teaching career is perfectly documented by Carter with care, compassion, and, when appropriate, quite humorously. Carter has done an excellent job distilling a very complicated life of one of America's finest painters and art teachers.
The reproductions of Eakins' drawings, paintings, and photographs
couldn't be better. Congratulations to Carter and thanks to Abrams, this is a fine book at a great price. I think the ever critical Eakins would have agreed.