oil on board; signed lower right 13 x 9 in. (33.02 x 22.86 cm.), Frame: 21 x 18 in. (53.34 x 45.72 cm.) Thomas Anshutz studied in Paris at the Académie Julian before moving, in 1875, to Philadelphia. Here he enrolled in a class at the Philadelphia Sketch Club, taught by Thomas Eakins. Eakins became a tremendous influence on Anshutz' early career, though he created his own personal variations, not just faithful reproductions of Eakins’ work. Anshutz was a portrait, figurative, and landscape painter and his greatest work, “Iron Workers at Noontime” is praised as a precursor to realism. He captured the mundane, harsh, everyday activities of the industrial working class and the painting was considered quite shocking at the time. Anshutz went on to become a long-time teacher at the Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts, and is perhaps best known for his influence on his students.