Thomas Eakins
Jane Dean Kershaw (Mrs. Samuel Murray)
1891-1901
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Thomas Eakins
Jane Dean Kershaw (Mrs. Samuel Murray)
1891-1901
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (59.7 x 49.5 cm)
Framed: 33 5/8 x 29 3/4 x 2 1/4 in. (85.4 x 75.6 x 5.7 cm)
Credit Line
Purchase Fund
Object Number
1955.176
Armed with French academic training, knowledge of Old Master painting, and keen practical interest in photography, Thomas Eakins created some of the most compelling examples of realism in the history of American art. A gifted but controversial teacher, Eakins broke with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) after being accused of moral impropriety for removing the loincloth from a male model in a class of female students. The short-lived Art Students' League of Philadelphia (1886-1893), focused on the study of the figure, was founded in response to Eakins' departure from PAFA. There, Eakins met sculptor Samuel Murray and art teacher Jane Dean Kershaw, who eventually married and became Eakins’ lifelong friends. Kershaw's intimate and expressive portrait, characterized by a dark Rembrandt-esque palette, demonstrates Eakins' careful observation of her thoughtful state.
Samuel Murray, Philadelphia; Jane Kershaw Murray, Philadelphia, 1941; Ferargil Galleries, New York, by 1943; Joseph Katz, Baltimore; Hirschl and Adler Galleries, New York, 19545 M. Knoedler and Company, New York
Ferargil Galleries, New York, "Exhibition of American Paintings," July 19-Sept. 15, 1943, n.p., no. 3
Milwaukee Art Institute, "American Painting," 1850-1900, Mar. 4-Apr. 3, 1949, n.p., no. 11
Des Moines Art Center, "Master Painters," Sept. 11-Oct. 7, 1951, n.., no. 19.
Hirschl and Adler Galleries, New York, "Two Hundred Years of American Art," Jan. 13-Feb. 20, 1954, n.p., no. 25.
Baltimore Museum of Art, "If Wishes Could Buy . .," Oct. 4-Nov. 6, 1955, no. 26.
Baltimore Museum of Art, "New Accessions," Summer 1957.
Baltimore Museum of Art, "American Classics of the 19th Century," Apr. 8-May 4, 1958.
Baltimore Museum of Art Downtown Gallery, "Faces," Mar. 4-Apr. 5, 1974.
Milwaukee Art Institute, "American Painting," 1850-1900, Mar. 4-Apr. 3, 1949, n.p., no. 11
Des Moines Art Center, "Master Painters," Sept. 11-Oct. 7, 1951, n.., no. 19.
Hirschl and Adler Galleries, New York, "Two Hundred Years of American Art," Jan. 13-Feb. 20, 1954, n.p., no. 25.
Baltimore Museum of Art, "If Wishes Could Buy . .," Oct. 4-Nov. 6, 1955, no. 26.
Baltimore Museum of Art, "New Accessions," Summer 1957.
Baltimore Museum of Art, "American Classics of the 19th Century," Apr. 8-May 4, 1958.
Baltimore Museum of Art Downtown Gallery, "Faces," Mar. 4-Apr. 5, 1974.
Sona K. Johnston, "American Painting 1750-1900 from the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," 1983, pp. 52-54, ill. p. 52.
Baltimore Museum of Art. The American Wing. Brochure. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art, [198-?], unpaged.
Inscribed: None
On View at the BMA
