Max Schmitt in a Single Scull, (painting).

Max Schmitt in a Single Scull, (painting).

Eakins, Thomas, 1844-1916, painter.

Max Schmitt in a Single Scull, (painting).

Champion Single Sculls, (painting).

Digital Reference:

32 1/4 x 46 1/4 in. (81.9 x 117.5 cm).

(On scull in background:) EAKINS / 1871 signed

View looking up the Schuylkill River with Eakins's boyhood friend Max Schmitt (1843-1900) seated in a shell, oars resting lightly on the water, as he looks back over his shoulder. His shell is inscribed with the name Josie, after his sister. Nearby, another figure in a shell rows toward him, and this figure represents Eakins himself, as his boat is inscribed with his name and the date. Farther up river, there are other figures on the water, and beyond there is the Gerard Avenue Bridge, the Connecting Railroad Bridge, and a steamboat far in the distance. The painting most likely commemorates Schmitt's victory in a single scull competition on Oct. 5, 1870.

Portrait male -- Schmitt, Max -- Waist length

Recreation -- Sport & Play -- Rowing

Architecture -- Boat -- Scull

Landscape -- River -- Schuylkill River

Landscape -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

Landscape -- Season -- Autumn

Architecture -- Bridge -- Gerard Avenue Bridge

Architecture -- Bridge -- Connecting Railroad Bridge

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5th Avenue at 82nd Street, New York, New York 10028 Accession Number: 34.92

Formerly in the collection of Schmitt, Max, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Schmitt, Max, Mrs., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania until 1930.

Eakins, Thomas, Mrs., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1930-1933.

Babcock Galleries, New York, New York 1930-1931.

Milch Galleries, New York, New York 1934.

"American Light: The Luminist Movement, 1850-1875," Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1980.

Czestochowski, Joseph S., "The American landscape tradition: a study and gallery of paintings," New York: E.P. Dutton, 1982, fig. 124.

Johns, Elizabeth, "Thomas Eakins: the Heroism of Modern Life," Princeton, New Jersey, 1983.

Spassky, Natalie, "American Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Volume II: A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1816 and 1845," New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985, pg. 588.

Antiques (Aug. 1996): pg. 169.

"Survey of American Paintings," Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Institute, Department of Fine Arts, 1940, no. 182.

"Guide to the Metropolitan Museum of Art," New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972, pg. 19.

Czestochowski, Joseph S., "The American landscape tradition: a study and gallery of paintings," New York: E.P. Dutton, 1982, pg. 115.

Spassky, Natalie, "American Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Volume II: A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1816 and 1845," New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985, pg. 589.

Antiques (Aug. 1996): pg. 169.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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