Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
58.P.39 |
Object Name |
Painting |
Title |
Portrait of Daniel Garrison Brinton |
Artist |
Eakins, Thomas |
Date |
ca. 1900 |
Description |
Half-length portrait of front-facing figure, with head turned slightly to his right, in front of a sienna background. The subject has short, graying, brown hair, an angular gray beard and brown eyes. He is wearing a black coat and waistcoat, a high white collar and a black cravat. Only the top button of his coat is buttoned. Pinned on his left lapel is the red, white, and blue rosette of the Loyal Legion. Unsigned and undated. |
Label |
While pursuing a medical career, Daniel Garrison Brinton studied Native American languages and cultures, eventually becoming professor of archaeology and linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. Though some of his theories have now been discredited, Brinton was a pioneer of modern anthropology in his application of evolutionary theory to the study of human societies. Since this portrait was commissioned after Brinton's death, famed Philadelphia painter Thomas Eakins would have worked from an existing formal portrait photograph. However, those who knew Brinton claimed the portrait captured how he "appeared to us when full of that vigorous life which took such hold upon his friends." |
Medium |
Oil on canvas |
Dimensions |
H-41 W-36 inches |
Dimension Details |
Framed |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift of friends of Brinton, 1900. |
Search Terms |
19th Century nineteenth century painting Native America anthropology University of Pennsylvania |