Dr. Agnew (Dr. D. Hayes Agnew) (1818-1892)

Thomas Eakins's 1889 portrait of the renowned surgeon Dr. D. Hayes Agnew is a pendant to his earlier and more famous Gross Clinic, bringing his unflinching, scientifically precise approach to the portrayal of American medicine into the last decade of the 19th century. Agnew was one of America's most distinguished surgeons, known for his teaching and practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Like the Gross Clinic, Eakins situates the surgeon in his professional environment, using the medical context to explore questions of authority, knowledge, and the relationship between the intellectual and the physical world.

Eakins renders Agnew with the same direct, unsparing observation that characterizes all his best portraits — the surgeon's aged face modeled with careful attention to the structure beneath. The handling is confident and assured, with the face and hands receiving the most concentrated attention against a more broadly treated background.