Thomas Eakins was one of the most fearless realists in American art. He wanted his paintings to be medically accurate, so he studied anatomy firsthand, attended dissections, and even enrolled in medical courses to understand the human body. His masterpiece The Gross Clinic was so graphic that it was rejected from the 1876 Centennial Exhibition for being “too brutal,” a reaction that only underscored how far ahead of his time he was.

Eakins also embraced photography long before most artists trusted it. He worked with motion-study pioneer Eadweard Muybridge and used photographs to capture movement, light, and precise anatomy. His teaching career proved just as groundbreaking. He insisted that artists study from the nude — including male models — which was considered scandalous for female students at the time. The Academy fired him, but his approach eventually became standard in art education.

Eakins was fascinated with the sport and produced some of the most iconic rowing paintings in American art. His portraits of champion rowers are precise enough that coaches still comment on the form.

Despite controversy in his lifetime, Eakins is now celebrated as one of America’s greatest painters, known for portraits that show people exactly as they were, not as they wished to appear.