The Agnew Clinic : “Not Cheerful for Ladies to Look At”

May 1, 1889, was more than a typical commencement at the University of Pennsylvania; it was a day of celebration and nostalgia honoring Dr. D. Hayes Agnew (1818–1892) who was retiring as John Rhea Barton Professor of Surgery at the School of Medicine. The highlight of “Agnew Day,” which included speeches by such eminent doctors as S. Weir Mitchell and William Osier, was the unveiling of a monumental painting of Agnew conducting a clinic at the University Hospital. Painted by the Philadelphia artist Thomas Eakins (1844–1916), The Agnew Clinic (Figure 2) won high praise from the medical community that day and afterwards, being called “magnificent” by S. Weir Mitchell, “one of the masterpieces of Mr. Thomas Eakins, an eminent Philadelphia artist,” by Dr. J. William White, and “this work which made Dr. Agnew famous” by his biographer Dr. J. Howe Adams.