Thomas Eakins that was often as tender as it was vigorous, and to have preserved for us the essence of an American life which, indeed, he did not idealize—because it seemed to him beautiful beyond the necessity of idealization. Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important artists in American art history. For the length of his professional career, from the early 1870s until his health began to fail some 40 years later, Eakins worked exactingly
Conservation-restoration of Thomas Eakins' The Gross Clinic the behest of Jefferson Medical College. Hearing of the college's plans for restoring the painting, Eakins' student Charles Bregler,who frequently treated multiple Eakins paintings at Susan Eakins request, attempted to intervene but was rebuffed. Horner removed the linen lining attached by Stevenson in 1915 and replaced it with two, 4 by 6 1/2 foot pieces of plywood which were butted in the center and nailed to a wooden framework. The painting was then attached using carpenter's glue. Records also indicate that Horner also cleaned and restored the painting. The results of the 1940 treatment proved to be disastrous and put