Ella Crowell (1873–1897) was an important figure in the art and life of her uncle, the renowned American artist Thomas Eakins (1844–1916). He famously painted her as a toddler in Baby at Play (1876) but was later held responsible for her mental decline and early death. The general contours of her last years are known—she moved to Philadelphia in April 1890 to study with Eakins, was placed in a mental hospital by September 1896, and died by suicide in July 1897—but the particulars are vague. Crowell’s parents and siblings, for their part, blamed Eakins for contaminating her with “beastly ideas.” The family remained forever estranged. 

Taking as a starting point a newly discovered Eakins sketch of Ella Crowell from the mid-1890s, Portrayed by Eakins examines not simply her death but the broader scope of her lived experience. What were her ambitions and aims? Period correspondence suggests that she wished to chart an independent course, one in which she was not reliant on family or marriage for financial support or social relevance. Familiar with the Philadelphia art world, Crowell perhaps saw an art career as her means of achieving autonomy. This exhibition considers the opportunities and limitations Ella Crowell encountered, using archival materials to trace the contours of a life lived in the shadow of America’s most celebrated portraitist.

This exhibition explores the life of Ella Crowell (1873–1897), the eldest niece of one of this country’s most celebrated and influential American artists, Thomas Eakins (1844–1916). Eakins was known for his uncompromising dedication to realism, often depicting his family, friends, and students with great psychological acuity.

Ella was an important figure in her uncle’s art and life: he famously painted her as a toddler in 1876, and she and a younger sister studied with him in the 1890s. Her mental health, however, declined during those years, and she tragically died by suicide in 1897. Ella’s parents held Eakins responsible for her early death, and the family remained forever estranged.

Portrayed by Eakins seeks to uncover the broader scope of Ella’s lived experience. Period correspondence suggests that she wished to chart an independent course, one in which she was not reliant on family or marriage for financial support or social relevance. Family photographs, archival materials, and art reproductions trace the contours of Ella’s life from her early childhood to her studies in Philadelphia. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a rarely seen, recently conserved double-sided oil sketch of Ella by Thomas Eakins, painted in the 1890s.

The oil sketch and related family materials were generously presented to the Fitchburg Art Museum in 2015, a gift of Eakins’s great-great-grandniece, Nancy Crowell Reinbold. These objects help us to understand a life lived in the shadow of one of America’s most acclaimed portraitists.

This exhibition was organized by Guest Curator Elizabeth Athens, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History at the University of Connecticut.