I was recently reading a book on the important American artist Thomas Eakins. I was interested to learn that his father was also artistically inclined, and a teacher of penmanship.
Here is a quote from the book, Eakins Watercolors, by Donelson F. Hoopes:
Thomas Eakins was born in Philadelphia in 1844. His family derived from a working class background of farmers and craftsmen. His father, Benjamin Eakins, earned a modest living by teaching handwriting --"penmanship," as it was termed -- in the fashionable private schools of the city. In a time when the manual arts were still flourishing, "Master" Benjamin supplemented his income by engrossing documents and presentation testimonials with his elegant steel-pen script. Son and father had a close personal relationship ...
Often it does happen that an artistic parent contributes to the development of an artistic child, and this appears to have been a formative influence for Thomas Eakins.
Does anyone know of other references to his father, the penman Benjamin Eakins?
