Officials announced that Thomas Eakins’ The Gross Clinic will stay in Philadelphia thanks to an intensive fundraising effort spearheaded by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
The fundraising drive so far has yielded $30 million in donations towards the purchase of the painting, and Wachovia Bank will extend a loan to cover any shortfall. The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts will share joint ownership of the painting, which is being purchased from Thomas Jefferson University for $68 million. The Gross Clinic is currently on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
It’s not too late! Fundraising is still underway, and online contributions can be made to the Fund for Eakins’ Masterpiece.
The Fairmount Park Art Association was stunned by Thomas Jefferson University’s recent announcement that it would sell Thomas Eakins’ masterpiece The Gross Clinic to the National Gallery and the new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The deal allowed 45 days for local cultural institutions to match the $68 million sale price in order to keep the painting in Philadelphia. Read more here.