Max Schmitt in a Single Scull

Set on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this work celebrates the victory of Eakins's friend Max Schmitt in the October 5, 1870, single sculls competition. The painting's composition echoes the event by reproducing the weather conditions and position of the sun at the date and time of Schmitt's triumph. Schmitt is depicted rowing upstream. His location is just south of the Columbia Railroad Bridge, which was the midpoint of the race. Eakins, who was also a keen rower, included himself as the sculler in the middle distance.