Lot Description

Thomas Eakins (1844-1916)
Maurice Feely
bears inscription 'Eakins' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
24 x 20 in. (61 x 50.8 cm.)
Painted circa 1905.

Provenance

The artist.
Susan Macdowell Eakins, wife of the above, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Charles Bregler, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Joseph Katz, Baltimore, Maryland.
M. Knoedler & Co., New York.
Joseph H. Hirshhorn, New York, acquired from the above, 1961.
Gift to the present owner from the above, 1966.

Pre-Lot Text

SOLD BY THE ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN TO BENEFIT ITS ACQUISITIONS PROGRAM

Literature

A. Burroughs, "Catalogue of Works by Thomas Eakins (1869-1916)," The Arts, no. 5, June 1924, p. 333.
L. Goodrich, Thomas Eakins: His Life and Work, New York, 1933, p. 202, no. 431 (as Maurice Feeley).
G. Hendricks, The Life and Work of Thomas Eakins, New York, 1974, p. 324, no. 99, illustrated.
P.D. Rosenzweig, The Thomas Eakins Collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., 1977, pp. 202-03, no. 110, illustrated.

Exhibited

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Thomas Eakins Centenial Exhibition, 1844-1944, April 8-May 14, 1944, no. 110.
New York, M. Knoedler & Co., and elsewhere, A Loan Exhibition of the Works of Thomas Eakins, 1844-1944, June 5-July 31, 1944, no. 78.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Thomas Eakins Centennial Exhibition, 1844-1944, April 26-June 1, 1945, no. 74.

Lot Notes

Maurice Feely, who was born in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, came to the United States in 1873. He studied under Thomas Eakins at the Art Students' League around 1890 and later opened a commercial sign painting business. In 1905, around the time Eakins executed this portrait, Feely closed his business to pursue a career as an artist.