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Point of Sight: Thomas Eakins' Drawing Manual Reconstructed

February 26 - April 3, 2005

Point of Sight: Thomas Eakins' Drawing Manual Reconstructed is on view through April 3, 2005 in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts' historic landmark building. The exhibition reveals original illustrations for a drawing manual that was never published during Eakins' lifetime. (right: Thomas Eakins, [The Law of Perspective], ca. 1884-1887, Pen and ink over graphite on cream wove paper. Charles Bregler's Thomas Eakins Collection. Purchased with the partial support of the Pew Memorial Trust and the John. S. Phillips Fund.)

The illustrations accompany the first publication of Eakins' drawing manual, edited by Dr. Kathleen Foster at the Center for American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The principal components of Eakins' manual cover linear perspective, mechanical and isometric drawing, reflections in water, sculptural relief and shadow. Collectively, the illustrations and descriptive texts unveil Eakins' remarkable analysis of pictorial formulas through detailed technical drawings and scientific inquiry. The elegant pen and ink drawings include measurements, scales, geometric formulae and additional mechanics.

In 1877, Thomas Eakins volunteered to teach an informal course in perspective at the Academy, and in March 1880 he delivered his first official lecture on the topic. Over the next five years, he developed a standard series of annual lectures on special drawing techniques. At some point it occurred to Eakins to publish these lectures as a small illustrated handbook; however, the manual was never published. Some 80 years later, the manuscript draft came into the possession of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the accompanying illustrations found their way to the Pennsylvania Academy.

This exhibition is available through the unique collaboration between the two institutions, and organized in conjunction with the publication of Eakins' drawing manual by Dr. Kathleen Foster, Director of the Robert L. McNeill, Jr. Center for American Art and Curator of American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in celebration of the Pennsylvania Academy's 200th Anniversary.

Expanded text from the Academy

In 1877 Thomas Eakins volunteered to teach an informal course in perspective at the Pennsylvania Academy, and three years later he delivered his first official lecture on the topic. Eventually these special presentations became an annual event, and at some point he decided to publish these lectures as a small illustrated handbook, the principal components of which would cover linear perspective, mechanical and isometric drawing, reflections in water, sculptural relief and a brief discussion of shadow. Collectively the illustrations and descriptive texts would unveil Eakins' remarkable analysis of pictorial formulae through detailed technical drawings and scientific inquiry. (right: Thomas Eakins, [Viewer Position], ca. 1884-1887, Pen and ink over graphite on cream wove paper. Charles Bregler's Thomas Eakins Collection. Purchased with the partial support of the Pew Memorial Trust and the John. S. Phillips Fund.)

For reasons unknown Eakins never published his manual, although the upset of his departure from the Academy and the gradual erosion of his student audience after 1886 must have been a factor. Serendipitously however, some 80 years later the manuscript draft came into the possession of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the accompanying illustrations found their way to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Now, in a unique collaboration between the two institutions, and supported by the Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Center for American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Eakins' drawing manual will be reconstructed and made available in a new printed and bound publication authored by Dr. Kathleen Foster, Curator of American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Eakins' perspective system relied on algebraic equations, based on the principle "twice as far off, half as big." In the first line of his text he told his readers: "the science of perspective is of great simplicity and easy comprehension." While his system was indeed among the simplest of mathematical types, its use required precise measurement of subjects and space. Although Eakins continued to use his perspective system into the 1890s, many artists at this time abandoned measured perspective in favor of using the eye alone to judge spatial relationships. Although his method is not used by contemporary artists, his drawing manual provides valuable documentation of his own working methods, as well as his educational practice.

The Pennsylvania Academy will display a selection of Eakins' illustrations that demonstrate both his highly mathematical approach to composition and his superior draftsmanship. The illustrations are fascinating for the measurements, diagonal scales and geometric formulae they include. They also distinguish between Eakins' approach to perspectival drawing and his other drawings, demonstrating his assertion that: "Mechanical drawing is much simpler than perspective drawing because the scale within the picture never changes to indicate changes of distance from the eye."

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