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American Art

Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic)

1875

Thomas Eakins, American, 1844 - 1916

Oil on canvas

8 feet x 6 feet 6 inches (243.8 x 198.1 cm)

* Gallery 119, American Art, first floor

2007-1-1

Short version: Gift of the Alumni Association to Jefferson Medical College in 1878 and purchased by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2007 with the generous support of more than 3,500 donors Complete credit line: Gift of the Alumni Association to Jefferson Medical College in 1878 and purchased by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2007 through The Joseph E. Temple Fund of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the gift of Mrs. Thomas Eakins and Miss Mary Adeline Williams (by exchange) and with the generous support of The Annenberg Foundation, Athena and Nicholas Karabots, an anonymous donor, Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest, Jeanette and Joe Neubauer, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Dorrance H. Hamilton Charitable Trust, Leslie Miller and Richard Worley, Mrs. J. Maxwell Moran, and Penelope P. Wilson, as well as significant contributions from two anonymous donors, Jan and Warren Adelson in memory of Margaret and Raymond Horowitz, American Art Search, Mrs. Gustave G. Amsterdam, Graham Arader, Barbara B. and Theodore R. Aronson, Helen and Jack Bershad, Estate of Frank Paul Bowman, Michael and Veronica Bradley, Robert W. Brano, Mr. and Mrs. William C. Buck, William C. Bullitt, Donald R. Caldwell, Clara Callahan and Peter Goodman, Mr. and Mrs. Tristram C. Colket, Jr., Connelly Foundation, Sarah and Frank Coulson, Maude de Schauensee, Anne d'Harnoncourt, Mrs. Fitz Eugene Dixon, Jr., Jaimie and David Field, Mrs. Joanna G. Gabel, David W. Haas, Frederick R. Haas and Daniel K. Meyer, M.D., Joseph and Sherry Hanley, Hannah L. and J. Welles Henderson, Barbara B. and Paul M. Henkels, Holly Beach Public Library Association, Lynne and Harold Honickman, James A. Michener Art Museum, Dr. and Mrs. Henry A. Jordan, in honor of Robert L. McNeil, Jr., Kaiserman Family, Paul K. Kania, Jill and Peter Kraus, Carolyn Payne Langfitt, Larking Hill Foundation, Harriet and Ronald Lassin, Ellen and Jerry Lee, Judy and Peter Leone, Mr. and Mrs. John J. Lombard, Jr., Mrs. Louis C. Madeira IV, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Magid, Agnes M. Mulroney, Dr. and Mrs. J. Brien Murphy and family, Elizabeth Anne O'Donnell, Jeffrey Orleans, Natalie Y. Peris Memorial Fund, Andrew M. Rouse, Susan K. Shapiro, 1675 Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. E. Newbold Smith, Dr. Stanton and SaraKay Smullens, Marilyn L. Steinbright, Deborah W. Troemner, Veritable, LP, The William Penn Foundation, The Women's Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and additional gifts from more than 3,500 donors, including trustees and staff of the Academy and the Museum, 2007-1-1

Gallery Label

Dr. Samuel D. Gross appears in the surgical amphitheater at Jefferson Medical College, lit by the skylight overhead. Five doctors (one of whom is obscured by Dr. Gross) attend to the young patient, whose cut left thigh, bony buttocks, and sock-clad feet are all that is visible to the viewer. Chief of Clinic Dr. James M. Barton bends over the patient, probing the incision, while junior assistant Dr. Charles S. Briggs grips the patient's legs and Dr. Daniel M. Appel keeps the incision open with a retractor. The anesthetist (Dr. W. Joseph Hearn) holds a folded napkin soaked with chloroform over the patient's face, while the clinic clerk (Dr. Franklin West) records the proceedings. A woman at the left, traditionally identified as the patient's mother, cringes and shields her eyes, unable to look. Confident of the outcome of the operation, Dr. Gross calmly and majestically turns to address his students, including the intent figure of Thomas Eakins, who is seated at the right edge of the canvas.

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