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.