“When a man paints a naked woman he gives her less than poor Nature did. I can conceive of few circumstances wherein I would have to paint a woman naked, but if I did I would not mutilate her for double the money. She is the most beautiful thing there is — except a naked man, but I never saw a study of one exhibited.”

—  Thomas Eakins

Letter to his father, Benjamin Eakins (1867), quoted in Lloyd Goodrich, Thomas Eakins: His Life and Work (1933).

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "When a man paints a naked woman he gives her less than poor Nature did. I can conceive of few circumstances wherein I w…" by Thomas Eakins?
Thomas Eakins photo
Thomas Eakins19
American painter 1844–1916

Related quotes

Tina Fey photo

“New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is once again expressing outrage at an art exhibit, this time at a painting in which Jesus is depicted as a naked woman. Said the mayor, "This trash is not the sort of thing that I want to look at when I go to the museum with my mistress."”

Tina Fey (1970) American comedian, writer, producer and actress

citation needed

Lawrence Ferlinghetti photo

“Poetry is a naked woman, a naked man, and the distance between them.”

Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919) American artist, writer and activist

Source: Poetry as Insurgent Art

John Berger photo

“You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting “Vanity,” thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for you own pleasure.”

John Berger book Ways of Seeing

Source: Ways of Seeing

Howard Stern photo

“It occurred to me that to have a naked woman on the radio would be outrageous. And yet really who would it offend? It's all theater of the mind. You don't even really know if she's naked or not.”

Howard Stern (1954) American radio personality

Howard Stern on Piers Morgan Tonight, CNN (January 18, 2011)

“Who is she, why is she still here and when can I see her naked? Paris asked with an eyebrow wiggle”

Gena Showalter (1975) American writer

Source: The Darkest Night

John Crowley photo

“Seeing a woman's child is like seeing a woman naked, in the way it changes how her face looks to you, how her face becomes less the whole story.”

John Crowley (1942) American writer

Bk. 2, Ch. 3
Little, Big: or, The Fairies' Parliament (1981)

José Saramago photo

“(a picture of)a naked woman, although she was covering her pubis with her right hand and her breasts with her left. _ _ _ _ covering yourself up like that is worse than showing everything”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), pp. 58–59 (Vintage 2003)

John Irving photo

“A woman half dressed seemed to have some power, but a man was simply not as handsome as when he was naked, and not as secure as when he was clothed.”

John Irving book The World According to Garp

Source: The World According to Garp

“He whirled in the water and grinned at me. Damn, he was a handsome bastard. I realized he was half-naked. Blue swirls of tattoos painted his chest. When God made that chest, he did to tempt women.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Magic Burns

Related topics