The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Crowell Children at Avondale

Crowell Children at Avondale

1885–1890
(American, 1844–1916)
Image: 9 x 11.2 cm (3 9/16 x 4 7/16 in.); Paper: 9.1 x 11.3 cm (3 9/16 x 4 7/16 in.); Matted: 35.6 x 45.7 cm (14 x 18 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

Thomas Eakins's awareness of photography as a visual aid for painters preceded his own interest in making photographs, which began in the early 1880s. He fully expressed his pioneering, personal, and aesthetic style of photography in this rare image of two young boys in an outdoor setting. Here, Eakins positioned his nephews against a muscular tree trunk, which asymmetrically divides the composition. He made the short exposure in diffuse outdoor lighting, a condition he favored. Soft shadows allowed for a subtle rendering of the ordinary scene, marked by casual posture, dress, and setting. An early practitioner of the platinum process, Eakins was instinctively drawn to its slight gradations and gentle continuities of tone. Broad areas of light and shade allowed him to ignore specific details in order to render the universal qualities he discovered through close observation of his chosen subject matter.
  • Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-September 16, 2007); Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA (October 3, 2009-January 3, 2010).
    Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro Collection of American Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 26-September 10, 2003).
  • {{cite web|title=Crowell Children at Avondale|url=false|author=Thomas Eakins|year=1885–1890|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2002.49