Thomas Eakins Rediscovered: The Bregler Collection and a New Look at an American Master
More than fifty years ago, a collection of Thomas Eakins’s studio materials—oil sketches, sculptures, drawings, photographs, and manuscripts—was rescued from his abandoned home by a devoted student, Charles Bregler. Once dismissed as worthless, these artifacts are now recognized as a vital resource for understanding the life and work of one of America’s greatest artists. This book serves both as a catalog of the Bregler collection and a fresh reassessment of Eakins’s career through the lens of these remarkable materials.
Author Kathleen A. Foster draws on the collection to explore the training, teaching, and studio practices that shaped Eakins’s uniquely American realist style. She traces his artistic education in Philadelphia and Paris, examines his habits as a draftsman, and reveals his innovations in watercolor, photography, oil painting, and sculpture. Foster also offers new insights into Eakins’s best-known works, from his early sporting scenes to his powerful late portraits, illuminating how his subjects and techniques combined to create lasting meaning.
Published in association with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, this richly illustrated volume brings new understanding to Eakins’s creative process and artistic legacy.