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

In this seminal work by Thomas Eakins, the artist portrays Dr. Samuel D. Gross as he demonstrates a modern medical procedure. Eakins created this work early in his career after returning from his studies in Paris and exhibited this large-scale canvas in the Philadelphia 1876 Centennial as a means to showcase his talents. In this graphic portrait of the world-famous Philadelphia surgeon, Eakins filled the composition with naturalistic details. Standing confidently in Jefferson Medical College's surgical amphitheater, Gross conducts a lecture-demonstration on the bone infection osteomyelitis, the treatment of which was a sign of nineteenth-century medical progress. The artist placed himself in the scene as a witness, seated to the right of the tunnel railing while sketching. Eakins instilled a straightforward quality and a sense of having directly observed the unvarnished, unidealized likeness of the sitter. With a blood-stained hand, Gross holds a scalpel, as his surgeons make an incision into the exposed thigh while applying chloroform to the patient's hidden face. A woman, likely the patient's mother, turns away in horror upon witnessing the distressing scene. Against the dark background, the vivid red colors stress the visceral reality of the medical procedure and heighten the harrowing nature of the event.

Considered too gruesome by the Centennial's art jury, The Gross Clinic was moved to a nearby model U.S. Army field hospital exhibition. Eakins's devotion to realism shaped how audiences viewed the human body, impacting generations of American artists in the figurative tradition. Yet, the artist's legacy as an instructor at PAFA has been tinged with controversy around his personal relationships with models, the human body, and the agency of his subjects. The Gross Clinic opens questions about the depiction of the patient's body—exposed and vulnerable to the viewer's gaze.