The painting for that makes up the background of this blog is The Agnew Clinic by Thomas Eakins, realist painter from Philadelphia. There is a great deal of history behind the piece. The subject of the piece is Dr. David Hayes Agnew, a fairly well known surgeon and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Agnew was operating surgeon to President Garfield when he had been fatally shot in 1881 and is author of several texts including The Practice and Principles of Surgery.
The painting was commissioned to honor Dr. Agnew's retirement and is of great importance, itself. It was Eakins' largest work and cost $750. The painting is so realistic that every person in the painting can be identified except the patient. Eakins' decision to portray the patient as a partially nude woman in a room full of men was controversial and the piece was rejected or criticized at exhibitions.
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