Mrs. Mary Arthur
Artist: Thomas Eakins (American, 1844–1916)
Original Dimensions: 24" x 20"
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
About Artwork: (1900) "This portrait depicts the seventy-six-year-old mother of Eakins’s artist-friend Robert Arthur. As a representation of an elderly sitter absorbed in a traditional task, it recalls other paintings by the artist, such as the portrait of his father in The Writing Master (on view in Gallery 766). In this and related depictions of older women from the time, Eakins used strong contrasts of light and dark to define forms and highlight hands and face, suggesting both manual dexterity and the wisdom of age. This work’s austere palette and quiet eloquence also suggest his study of earlier painters like Rembrandt." - (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

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