1888
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Crowell Children at Avondale is a 1888 by Thomas Eakins, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
Two young boys stand in a sunlit field, one leaning against a thick tree trunk. Their clothes are simple, their faces calm. Eakins painted his nephews here, but he also used a camera to plan the scene. The soft light and sharp details feel almost like a photo—because they are. He took the picture first, then turned it into this painting. If you like how real these kids feel, look up Thomas Eakins (American, 1844–1916). His work often blurs the line between painting and photography.
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…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator.
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