Photographs of nude models served as an indispensable tool in painter Thomas Eakins’s artistic practice and teaching. Eakins became an active proponent of photography during the late 1800s, using the new medium to make images that enhanced his already sophisticated understanding of the human form. Other friends and members of his family, including his wife, also created and posed for photographs.

Nudity in art, and especially in photography, was the subject of furious debate during this period, and the photographs of nude men and women made by Eakins and his circle proved highly controversial. Most troubling to some observers was that the artist sometimes used his students—and even himself—as models. Seemingly less discussed at the time were the photographs of children, unclothed and clothed, attributed to Eakins’s circle, although we do know that his sister and her husband objected to having their children photographed nude. The identity of the girl in this photograph is unknown, as is the identity of the photographer. The image’s intended purpose is similarly unclear.