Thomas Eakins

Thomas Eakins was born on July 25, 1844. He was not only an artist, he was also an educator. As an artist, he was very much a realist, what he painted was almost exactly like real life. For the most part he painted portraits, mainly of his friends and family, or other people who were well known for their acheivements.


As a teacher, Thomas Eakins was a big influence in American Art Education. Even in his teaching, he stayed true to painting figures and portraits as realistically as possible. Although, his reputation took a turn for the worst when he was kicked out of Pennsylvania Academy due to scandal.


In the 1870's he took an interest in motion photography. In order to create one image, appearing to be in motion, he used a single camera and produced several exposures on one negative. This technique was seen as one of the most innovative art forms of the time.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Eakins