John Biglin in a Single Scull

Thomas Eakins

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1873, when Eakins began painting watercolors for exhibition, he took up sporting scenes. This sheet is a replica of a watercolor (Yale University Art Gallery) that he sent to his Parisian teacher, Jean-Léon Gérôme, for criticism. His master wrote, "Your watercolor is entirely good and I am very pleased to have in New York a pupil such as you who does me honor."

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art