Controversy
The Agnew Clinic is one of Eakins's most hotly debated works. His decision to portray a partially nude woman observed by a roomful of men (even though they were doctors, and in an undeniably medical setting) was controversial. It was rejected for exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1891, and at New York's Society of American Artists in 1892. Its exhibition at Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition was criticized. Modern art historian David M. Lubin asserts psychological and sexual overtones, e.g., "...the depiction of masculinity subjugating femininity does seem an essential component of this work."
Read more about this topic: The Agnew Clinic
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