Going against the grain challenges perceptions and allows people to be innovative. The ability to create and change people's perceptions can come at the cost of being excluded and ostracized if society disapproves. Once shunned by society for his controversial and scandalous artistic styles, Thomas Eakins is now recognized as one of America's greatest painters for his collective work. His work combined perception, strength, character and commitment to achieve realism. Through his paintings and photographs, Thomas's interests consumed most of his time as he studied in depth the anatomy and muscles of the human body. Thomas Eakins' love of realism and the immense beauty of anatomy encouraged him to strive for perfection while mastering the drawing of an impeccable human body; paying attention to every detail of his paintings: The Gross Clinic and The Agnew Clinic. Today, society proclaims Thomas Eakins as the founder of American realism in the 19th century, but throughout his life, critics considered his works controversial. Throughout his career his popularity was low and he sold very few works of art. His disapproval rating in the public eye only increased with his scandalous teaching styles, which required his students to appear naked for each other. Yet despite all the controversy surrounding Eakins, he remained true to his passion. Thomas Eakins captured the true depictions of the people he painted, even if it was not what they wished to see, while most portrait painters made alterations to reality, he always painted the truth about the human body. Many disliked Thomas' stubbornness and refusal to change. Accurate proportions were vital to Thomas Ea...... middle of paper ...... the body was too much for the people who saw this painting and it was rejected because of graphic and gruesome content displayed. Works Cited Burns, Sarah, “Ordering the Artist's Body: Thomas Eakins's Acts of Self‐Portrayal,” American Art, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring 2005), The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, pp. 82-107. Erwin, Robert, “Who Was Thomas Eakins?” The Antioch Review, Vol. 66, No. 4, Celebrity Deaths (Fall 2008), Antioch Review, Inc. pp. www.jstor.org.maurice.bgsu.edu/stable/25475641> Goodrich, Lloyd, “Thomas Eakins, Realist”, Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum, Vol.25, No. 133, Thomas Eakins 1844-1916 (March 1930) , Philadelphia Museum of Art, pp... 8-17.