AllMovie

The American Painter Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) was not held in very high regard during his lifetime but is now considered to be among the ranks of the great. This 1973 documentary interviews many people who knew the painter personally in their youth. Eakins, an early motion picture photographer, was notable for his studies of the human nude, and for his paintings of ordinary people in everyday outdoor settings. As a teacher, he formed and inspired generations of artists. Interviews with those who knew him are interspersed with an introduction to his paintings by Lloyd Goodrich of the Whitney Museum of Modern Art.