1960.156 Thomas Eakins, Susan M. The Three Fates | DMA Staging Content Management System

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

In Greek mythology, the Three Fates were goddesses who determined the course of human lives, represented by lengths of thread. Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis determined its length, and Atropos cut the cord. One of several versions of the subject begun around 1881 by Susan Hannah MacDowell (later Susan Macdowell Eakins), this sketch may have originally been intended as the design for a theatrical backdrop at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It appears to have been cut down from a larger canvas that contained a nude sketch of a woman, possibly by the artist's instructor and future husband, Thomas Eakins.

Susan Hannah MacDowell was already an accomplished, exhibiting photographer when she began studying with Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1880. She soon became one of his closest students and ultimately his wife in 1884. After her marriage, Eakins devoted the bulk of her time to defending her often-controversial husband, ultimately crafting his legacy through selective collaboration with early biographers and curators. Prior to her husband's death in 1916, Eakins had little time to produce her own paintings, though she continued to pursue her interest in photography. The bulk of paintings attributed to her are the result of her years as a widow, before her own death in 1938. During her life she received ample praise when her work appeared in group shows, but the honor of a solo exhibition came posthumously. In recent years, Eakins' own works have received increasing scholarly attention.

Adapted from

William Keyse Rudolph, DMA label copy (1960.156), October 2005.

NOTES

Added specific life dates.

Added born, worked, and death locations for artist.

Removed TMS object tag because rule exists.

This note was routed and reviewed by Sue who approved the draft with no changes. I am removing the routed tag and adding the completed tag because the GDoc has been moved to Queta's folder for review. (2/13/2017)

Wikipedia's list of her works includes The Spinners (Three Fates), oil on masonite- without a date or location. This is likely one of the works mentioned in the research document for the Harry Felix collection (in the object file). I did a preliminary search online and found a black and white photograph of another SM Eakins "Three Fates" painting through the Smithsonian Collections Search Center.

Susan Macdowell Eakins, Three Fates, n.d. Grayscale photograph of the painting found in Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums. Owner- Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, NY, Sale catalog: No. 934, 1948, Lot 91.
Printouts of this page and the photograph are now in the object file but I am unable to add it to Piction because of time constraints. http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID:siris_ari_90012
This grayscale image also appears on the ArcadiaSystems website on women artists- http://arcadiasystems.org/academia/cassatt6b.html

Former title- The Fates, used in 1960 documentation.

This painting started in 1881 but left unfinished. Should the date be adjusted to be "begun 1881"?

A lengthy bibliography exists in the object file but is not entered in TMS.

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Susan MacDowell Eakins

Cultures

Geography

Process/materials

oil paint

masonite

Historical periods

Gilded Age (United States, 1878-1889)

Individuals

Eakins, Thomas (1844-1916)

Subject terms

mythology

goddess

figures

women

drapery

backdrops

sketches

spinning wheels

symbol

sets (theatrical)

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE

Before 1960: Norman Hirschl (of Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, NY)

From 1960: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift from the above [1]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES

Thomas Eakins, The Artist's Wife and His Dog (1884-1889)~See a portrait of the artist by her husband, Thomas Eakins.
Susan Macdowell Eakins, Portrait of Thomas Eakins, (c. 1920-1925)~See the artist's portrait of her husband.

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

Known as a portraitist, The Three Fates is the only allegorical motif known in Susan Macdowell Eakins' body of work.
In addition to painting and photography, Susan Macdowell Eakins was also a talented pianist. She shared her artistic talent with her father, who was an engraver and photographer.
Moirai is the Greek term for the three goddesses known collectively as the Fates.
Eakins first met his wife at the opening exhibition for The Gross Clinic (1875, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts), which received ample criticism for its detailed depiction of blood and human anatomy. Susan Macdowell Eakins, then Susan Hannah Macdowell, greatly admired the portrait as an homage to American intellectual achievement and enrolled in her future-husband's classes at PAFA in 1878. The two were married in 1884, and she remained devoted to Thomas Eakins' career and reputation for the rest of her life.

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES

Apply to objects where number equals 1960.156

General Description

In Greek mythology, the Three Fates were goddesses who determined the course of human lives, represented by lengths of thread. Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis determined its length, and Atropos cut the cord. One of several versions of the subject begun around 1881 by Susan Hannah MacDowell (later Susan Macdowell Eakins), this sketch may have originally been intended as the design for a theatrical backdrop at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It appears to have been cut down from a larger canvas that contained a nude sketch of a woman, possibly by the artist's instructor and future husband, Thomas Eakins.

Susan Hannah MacDowell was already an accomplished, exhibiting photographer when she began studying with Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1880. She soon became one of his closest students and ultimately his wife in 1884. After her marriage, Eakins devoted the bulk of her time to defending her often-controversial husband, ultimately crafting his legacy through selective collaboration with early biographers and curators. Prior to her husband's death in 1916, Eakins had little time to produce her own paintings, though she continued to pursue her interest in photography. The bulk of paintings attributed to her are the result of her years as a widow, before her own death in 1938. During her life she received ample praise when her work appeared in group shows, but the honor of a solo exhibition came posthumously. In recent years, Eakins' own works have received increasing scholarly attention.