In 1929 and 1930, Mrs. Thomas Eakins and Miss Mary Adeline Williams gave the Philadelphia Museum of Art more than seventy paintings, drawings and sculptures by Thomas Eakins, establishing a collection that is vivid evidence of the artist's talent and working methods. Since then, others fascinated by Eakins' work and personality have donated additional examples of his art and a great variety of material related to his career. As a result, the Thomas Eakins Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is unparalleled as a record of the life and the artistic achievement of one of America's greatest artists.

This exhibition of works and documents of Eakins, his students and friends, celebrates the publication of the handbook to the Thomas Eakins Collection.