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won again. The two raced one-on-one again in 1874, and
Schmitt won again. Having regained the championship (but not the record) and never having been defeated by Lavens, Schmitt retired from single-sculls competition. But that same year, he and Lavens joined forces to help win the Four-Oared Shell competition for the Pennsylvania Barge Club. Another Eakins painting (unfinished) may commemorate that June 17, 1874 victory.
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it. He won again in July 1867, but in
September came in second to another Pennsylvania Barge rower in a longer (4 miles, 1 turn) race. He did not participate in 1868, when fellow Pennsylvania Barge rowers won first and second. Schmitt won the single-sculls title again in June 1869, but in September came in second to an
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Starting well together, Schmitt soon drew ahead followed by Street, Brossman and Lavens. When under the Girard Avenue Bridge, Brossman and Street fouled, the oars of one resting on the boat of the other. Schmitt was now three full lengths ahead. Street and
Brossman again fouled in the attempt of the
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Eakins, a keen oarsman himself who "was especially fascinated by rowing as a strenuous image expressive of physical as well as moral discipline", painted himself as the rower in the middle distance. He signed the painting – "Eakins, 1871" – on the stern of his scull. This was the first
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Schmitt did not defend his title the following year, and Lavens won with a time of 19:59 minutes, shaving one second off
Schmitt's record. Schmitt raced one-on-one against Lavens for the single-sculls championship in 1872, and won (but did not beat Lavens's record). Schmitt sat out 1873, and Lavens
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Schmitt was an early convert to sculls, and owned his own, named "Josie" after his sister. The name of the scull is visible in the painting just below
Schmitt's right hand. In September 1866, the Schuylkill Navy's annual regatta first featured a single-sculls race (3 miles, 1 turn), and Schmitt won
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In 1870 the four top rowers in the
Schuylkill Navy all belonged to the Pennsylvania Barge Club: Schmitt; Charles Brossman (who had won the title in 1868, and beaten Schmitt in the 4-mile race in September 1867); Austin Street (who had placed second in 1868); and John Lavens, Jr. They were the four
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The latter artist , who has lately returned from Europe and the influence of Gérôme, has also a picture entitled 'The
Champion Single Sculls' (No. 137), which, though peculiar, has more than ordinary interest. The Artist, in dealing so boldly and broadly with the commonplace in nature, is working
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This painting, the first of 24 rowing paintings that Eakins completed over the course of four years, was the first time rowing was the focus of serious art. However, the stuffy
Philadelphia critics didn't take well to Eakins' subject matter, even though rowing was, at the time, one of the most
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Thomas Eakins shows two, a portrait and a river scene, entitled 'The
Champion Sculls.' While manifesting a marked ability, especially in the painting of the rower in the foreground, the whole effect is scarcely satisfactory. The light on the water, on the rower and on the trees lining the bank
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748:, a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on this painting (pp. 88–89)
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former to turn the eastern stake, thus crossing
Brossman's bow. Schmitt had no trouble in maintaining the advantage he had gained, and won easily.
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Wilson, Rob (1987). "Sculling to the Over-Soul: Louis Simpson, American Transcendentalism, and Thomas Eakins's "Max Schmitt in a Single Scull"".
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of his almost thirty rowing works – sketches, oil paintings, watercolors, perspective drawings – created by the end of 1874.
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Eakins gave the painting to his friend Max Schmitt. Following Schmitt's 1900 death, his widow owned it until 1930, when she sold it
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popular sports. A critic remarked that his subject matter was 'a shock to the artistic conventionalities of the city'.
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upon well-supported theories, and despite a somewhat scattered effect, gives promise of a conspicuous future.
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indicates that the sun is blazing fiercely, but on looking upward one perceives a curiously dull leaden sky.
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Rob Wilson, "Sculling to the Over-Soul: Louis Simpson, American Transcendentalism, and Thomas Eakins's
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mounted on the sides (like a rowboat), but sculls had them a couple feet outside the boat thanks to
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467:. From right to left: John Lavens, Jr. (stroke), Max Schmitt, Frank Henderson, Oscar F. West (bow).
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and barges, but a new kind of lightweight craft was rapidly gaining popularity: the
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Eakins returned to Philadelphia in July 1870, following four years of study at the
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Detail: Pennsylvania Railroad Connecting Bridge, with Girard Avenue Bridge beyond.
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Sculls, or shells, were narrower, longer, and a lot faster. Gigs had their
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with Eakins, and the two were close friends. Schmitt was a member of the
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Schmitt not only re-established himself as the pre-eminent rower on the
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The painting was exhibited only once during Eakins's lifetime; at the
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521:"Eakins' The Champion Single Sculls (Max Schmitt In A Single Scull)"
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William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River
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Andréa Fernandes. "Feel Art Again: The Champion Single Sculls."
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593:. American Studies at the University of Virginia. Archived from
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for four days in April 1871. The reviews were mixed. From the
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The painting shows the influences of his tutors in France,
140:) is an 1871 oil-on-canvas painting by the American artist
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The course was 3 miles long: beginning near Turtle Rock (
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The Thomas Eakins Collection: Philadelphia Museum of Art
204:). Initially, the races were for 6-oared and 4-oared
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G-44A Eakins's drawing of the Girard Avenue Bridge,
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709:The Schuylkill Navy of Philadelphia, 1858–1937
248:competitors in the October championship race.
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439:G-64 Sketch of Max Schmitt (circa 1870–71),
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148:. It is in the permanent collection of the
75:82.6 cm × 117.5 cm (
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255:is the lighthouse at the northwest end of
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704:(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996).
962:The Thinker: Portrait of Louis N. Kenton
587:"Entry to the Real: The Rowing Pictures"
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265:Pennsylvania Railroad Connecting Bridges
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811:Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand
711:(Philadelphia: The Drake Press, 1938).
243:Schuylkill River Rowing Course (1872).
425:Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
188:Max Schmitt (1843–1900) had attended
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874:The Artist's Wife and His Setter Dog
718:(Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1978).
624:Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin
702:Thomas Eakins: The Rowing Pictures
687:, from Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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954:Portrait of Mary Adeline Williams
735:website. Accession Number: 34.92.
622:, "The Champion Single Sculls",
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190:Philadelphia Central High School
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842:The Fairman Rogers Four-in-Hand
685:Object Information / Provenance
308:Detail: Eakins's self-portrait.
986:Archbishop William Henry Elder
479:List of works by Thomas Eakins
16:1871 painting by Thomas Eakins
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803:Max Schmitt in a Single Scull
669:Max Schmitt in a Single Scull
125:Max Schmitt in a Single Scull
22:Max Schmitt in a Single Scull
1023:Conservation-restoration of
970:Portrait of Leslie W. Miller
745:The United States of America
640:, April 28, 1871, quoted in
618:, April 27, 1871, quoted in
349:Union League of Philadelphia
180:Detail of Schmitt. Note the
1062:Rowing in the United States
658:magazine: October 18, 2007.
461:The Pennsylvania Barge Four
137:The Champion, Single Sculls
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1057:Portraits by Thomas Eakins
994:William Rush and His Model
733:Metropolitan Museum of Art
626:, March 1968, pp. 306–307.
441:Philadelphia Museum of Art
150:Metropolitan Museum of Art
131:The Champion Single Sculls
112:Metropolitan Museum of Art
700:Helen A. Cooper, et al.,
457:Oarsmen on the Schuylkill
381:An assessment from 2007:
278:Max Schmitt (circa 1871).
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269:Columbia Railroad Bridge
739:Schuylkill Navy History
194:Pennsylvania Barge Club
1012:Susan Macdowell Eakins
397:Susan Macdowell Eakins
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339:, the Spanish artist.
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146:Goodrich catalogue #44
906:Portrait of Maud Cook
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616:Philadelphia Bulletin
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1077:American male rowers
314:École des Beaux-Arts
267:to a stake near the
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1018:Thomas Eakins House
729:Catalogue reference
485:100 Great Paintings
1072:Maritime paintings
898:The Concert Singer
850:The Writing Master
673:American Quarterly
553:American Quarterly
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202:American Civil War
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1067:History of rowing
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866:The Swimming Hole
827:The Chess Players
253:Turtle Rock Light
229:Undine Barge Club
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1087:Sports paintings
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922:Taking the Count
882:The Agnew Clinic
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1031:Eakins Oval
914:The Pianist
845:(1879–1880)
601:January 30,
591:Cross Roads
536:January 30,
333:Léon Bonnat
172:The sculler
1046:Categories
492:References
391:Provenance
72:Dimensions
946:Wrestlers
790:Paintings
366:From the
335:, and of
103: in)
54:Catalogue
473:See also
235:The race
217:oarlocks
116:New York
108:Location
1005:Related
930:Salutat
858:Arcadia
731:at the
573:2712886
231:rower.
221:riggers
182:riggers
98:⁄
84:⁄
1014:(wife)
997:(1908)
989:(1903)
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62:Medium
36:Artist
642:ibid.
569:JSTOR
455:G-63
318:Paris
603:2013
538:2013
331:and
263:and
206:gigs
57:G-44
49:1871
46:Year
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