Brief Biography-Thomas Eakins was born in Philadelphia. Although his first lessons in drawing were at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts before he studied anatomy, he also had an interest in photography. He was admitted to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1866, where he studied for three years under Jean-Léon Gérôme. Then, on a trip to Spain, the works of Diego Velazquez and Francisco de Goya influenced him.
When he returned to Philadelphia, he undertook anatomy classes at the Jefferson Medical Centre. Then, in 1873, he was appointed Professor of Painting and Director of the Schools at the Pennsylvania Academy; during this time, he married one of his students Susan Hannah MacDowell who also became a successful artist.
In 1886, the Academy asked him to resign for using a male nude model in class, and he got dismissed from the Drexel Institute for a similar reason. Those events harmed his health, and he retreated to Dakota, where he recuperated for a summer period, painting cowboy scenes.
He favoured the realism style, possibly due to his interest in anatomy, and the academicism of Jean-Léon Gérôme may also have influenced him. Two of his many successful followers were Thomas Anshutz and Robert Henri.
His most famous painting is The Gross Clinic, depicting dissection; it currently hangs in the Philadelphia Museum.