Thomas Eakins‘ famous portrait of Walt Whitman, painted in the poet’s home in Camden, New Jersey in 1887, Whitman’s favorite of all the images produced of him.
Eakins and Whitman – a very special bond
See Lincoln Kirstein‘s 1972 article – “Walt Whitman & Thomas Eakins – A Poet”s And A Painter’s Camera-Eye”
See also these extended notes on the relationship (on the invaluable Whitman Archive)
and here’s a photograph taken by Eakins of Whitman c.1891 (likewise at Camden)
More photos of Whitman by Eakins
The (in)famous nude-Whitman shots. Is this Walt posing for his good friend Thomas Eakins?
More on that – “Whitman’s birthday suit” – here – and here
Though the painter/photographer was a quarter century younger than the poet, there was a deep mutual understanding, a bond, simpatico, kindred spirits.
Whitman on Eakins : “I never… knew (but) one artist, and that’s Tom Eakins, who could resist the temptation to see what they think ought to be, rather than what is”
Eakins on his famous image of Whitman: “I began in the usual ways but soon found that the ordinary methods wouldn’t do – that technique, rules and traditions would have to be thrown aside; that before all else, he was to be treated as a man.”
Eakins, American (Philadelphia -based) realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator was born, July 25th, on this day.