c. 1883

Naked Series: Brooklyn No. 1

Finding models willing to pose nude for art classes was a perennial problem for Eakins. At the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Philadelphia art school where he taught and served as director from 1882 to 1886, the artist often recruited his students---both male and female---as models. As Eakins's utter frankness in dealing with unclothed figures raised eyebrows from all quarters, many female models chose to wear black masks to hide their identity. Eventually complaints from students who claimed they had been coerced to pose naked contributed to Eakins's forced resignation from the Academy in 1886.