Portrait of Maud Cook is an 1895 oil on canvas painting by the American artist Thomas Eakins

Thomas Eakins

Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...

. Given the artist's lack of interest in fashion or conventional beauty, the portrait has been noted as "a rare example of Eakins's studying the physical beauty of a young woman," and "one of Eakins's loveliest paintings."

Maud was the sister of Weda Cook, who posed for Eakins' The Concert Singer

The Concert Singer

The Concert Singer is a painting by Thomas Eakins , depicting the singer Weda Cook . The work, commenced in 1890 and completed in 1892, was Eakins's first full-length portrait of a woman...

in 1892. She is seen in a pink dress, the fabric flowing from her shoulders and pinned between her breasts. Her head is tilted to the left, in the direction of the light source. The light creates deep shadows that define the structure of her face, yet is subtle enough to suggest a youthful skin tone.

In a letter written to Lloyd Goodrich

Lloyd Goodrich

Lloyd Goodrich was an influential American art historian. He wrote extensively on American artists, including Edward Hopper, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Raphael Soyer and Reginald Marsh...

 in 1930, Cook recalled: "As I was just a young girl my hair is down low in the neck and tied with a ribbon....Mr. Eakins never gave (the painting) a name but said to himself it was like a 'big rose bud'." Several art historians have commented on the implications of Eakins' description, especially in reference to Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 symbolism associating the rose with virginity and the bud with sexual potential. Cook, in her twenties when she sat for the portrait, did not marry until eleven years later.

The painting has been noted as an example of Eakins' characteristic stark and unflattering vision. Although described as "resembling a classical sculpture more than a pretty, contemporary woman", Cook's representation is viewed as sensual, and representing an intensely private moment, underscored by the attention paid to her features and the disarray of her hairline. The suggestion of repressed sexuality has been seen as both intriguing and disturbing.

Before giving the painting to Cook, Eakins inscribed "To his friend/Maude Cook/Thomas Eakins/1895" on the back and carved its frame. Eventually the painting was acquired by Stephen Carlton Clark

Stephen Carlton Clark

Stephen Carlton Clark, Sr. DSM, was an American art collector, newspaper publisher, benefactor and founder of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.-Biography:...

, who bequeathed it to Yale University Art Gallery, where it has been held since 1961.