Page "Cecilia Beaux" Paragraph 8

Beaux began attending the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1876, then under the dynamic influence of Thomas Eakins, whose great work The Gross Clinic had " horrified Philadelphia Exhibition-goers as a gory spectacle " at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876.

She steered clear of the controversial Eakins, though she much admired his work.

His progressive teaching philosophy, focused on anatomy and live study ( and allowed the female students to partake in segregated studios ), eventually led to his firing as director of the Academy.

She did not ally herself with Eakins ' ardent student supporters, and later wrote, " A curious instinct of self-preservation kept me outside the magic circle.

" Instead, she attended costume and portrait painting classes for three years taught by the ailing director Christian Schussele.