Professor Benjamin Howard Rand

Early observers found this portrait of Eakins’s high school chemistry teacher unconventional because he seems lost among clutter. However, Eakins used the mess of Benjamin Howard Rand’s study to convey information about the sitter’s profession, life, and personality. The microscope, test tubes, and other equipment relate to Rand’s work as a scientist. The rose and the woman’s red shawl over the chair in the foreground suggest his life outside of work. Rand appears distracted, and absentmindedly pets his gray cat while marking his place in a book. While the chemist’s gaze is introspective, the cat directly addresses the viewer.

Rand and Eakins shared an interest in science. The precision with which Eakins composed the perspective of the scene, depicted objects, and rendered light indicate his disciplined, methodological approach to painting based on careful study and observation.