Widely regarded as the greatest American painter of the 19th century, Thomas Eakins (1844–1916) created portraits that are Rembrandtesque in style. His outdoor paintings, conversely, are strikingly modern and particularly American in their concern with light and atmosphere. Six of his finest paintings are reproduced for this collection: The Champion Single Sculls, 1871; Swimming, 1884–85; Portrait of Walt Whitman, 1887–88; The Agnew Clinic, 1889; The Concert Singer, 1890–92; and Self-Portrait, 1902.
