Thomas Eakins, “Portrait Sketch of William H. MacDowell”

Art of Our Time: Selections by the Class of 1974 
May 4 – August 4, 2024

Thomas Eakins, Portrait Sketch of William H. MacDowell
ca. 1891, oil on canvas, Purchase made possible by the Fine Arts Fund, 1941.
Collection of the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College.

In the library when I was at R-MWC. It was on the left wall in the entryway into the library. In my art class, Dr. Williams discussed at length (at 8 am, mind you)  – the techniques Eakins used – his use of quadrants – and used this piece as instruction. It opened my world of how to look at a painting. Years later – looking at the work of Chuck Close – I was reminded of this lecture. ~ Patricia Childress ’74