Echo
1892
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Ambrose Lansing
Accession Number
1983.114.1
Tags
About this artwork
Kenyon Coxâs image of the classical nymph Echo is from a series of poetic paintings set in the green fields of New Hampshire. Although Renaissance nudes inspired these paintings, Cox updated his versions of the theme. Here, for example, he did not smooth the modelâs dimpled flesh or frizzy hair, making her more natural and less idealized. The female nude was Coxâs favorite subject, despite his motherâs objections. When she complained to him that such paintings were ânot pleasing,â he...
About the Artist
Kenyon Cox · 1856–1919
Kenyon Cox (1856–1919) was born on October 27 in Warren, Ohio, to General Jacob Dolson Cox, a prominent politician and Civil War veteran, and Helen Finney Cox. Despite fragile health, young Cox pursued art at the Art Academy of Cincinnati before advancing to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. In 1877, he traveled to Paris, studying first under Carolus-Duran, then at the Éco...