Michael Kimmelman takes a tour of Thomas Eakins's paintings in Philadelphia, stopping at places one ordinarily wouldn't look for high realist art, such as the College of Physicians. There's something to be said for looking at art in the context for which it was either originally created or originally intended. In an age of a global art market, it's very rare to encounter art in its original context. Kimmelman visits good Eakins paintings and bad, but sees a common thread in his work in the city. Both the subject matter of the paintings themselves and the locations in which they are exhibited testify to a strong civic virtue. The paintings also remind us of the long history of collaboration between doctors and artists in Philadelphia. Eakins painted portraits of several prominent Philadelphia doctors. He even painted Walt Whitman's portrait, but Kimmelman doesn't particularly care for it.
Kimmelman concludes his tour at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is the new home to The Gross Clinic, at least until March, when it will be moved to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under a time-sharing agreement between the two museums. He dryly notes, "I happened to arrive at the Philadelphia Museum just after "The Gross Clinic" went on view in front of an early evening crowd that seemed nearly as large as the number of people that Jefferson University said visited the picture in an entire year when it was there." Nevertheless, the painting seemed comfortably at home.
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