# The Dancing Lesson

**Thomas Eakins** (American, 1844–1916)  
1878  
Watercolor on off-white wove paper  
18 1/16 x 22 9/16 in. (45.9 x 57.3 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 25.97.1. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/10821).

## About this work

In a plain interior, an elderly man sits watching as a young man plays the banjo and a small boy dances, his face set in concentration. Thomas Eakins made this watercolour in 1878, preparing it with careful oil studies of individual figures, two of which are in the National Gallery of Art, and exhibited it under the title Negro Boy Dancing. Unlike the caricatures of Black Americans common at the time, Eakins presents the family with dignity, and the passing of music and dance from one generation to the next is at the heart of the scene.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Thomas Eakins painted this in 1878, aged 34. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.

### [Thomas Eakins](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/thomas-eakins)

American, 1844–1916; born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Eakins studied in Paris under Jean-Léon Gérôme and was impressed in Spain by Velázquez and Ribera, then returned to Philadelphia, where he spent his life. He painted rowers, boxers and his city’s doctors and scholars with a frank realism grounded in anatomy, perspective and, later, photography. A demanding teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, he was forced to resign in 1886 over his use of nude models. Max Schmitt in a Single Scull was the first of his rowing pictures.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Watercolor
- Culture: American
- The artist was 34
- Real size: about 18 × 23 in (46 × 57 cm). The 18 × 24 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Realism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/realism)
- Subjects: Musical Instruments, Boys, Men, Dancing, Music
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/822.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/822/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-dancing-lesson-met-10821).