Philadelphia Museum of Art

(I tried to post the picture but for some reason it will not let me. Instead, here is a link to it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Agnew_Clinic.)


     This oil on canvas painting is titled "The Agnew Clinic," and it was painted by Thomas Eakins in 1889. It is displayed in the Late 19th Century American Art collection because not only is it a painting from that era but it also gives us insight into what medicine was like many years ago. It is in a large room with quite a lot of 19th century American art (much of it is portraiture), some furniture, several objects, and two marble statues. The point of view of the label is informative and presents background information on the painting and on the artist.
     In this painting, Dr. D. Hayes Agnew is standing on the left side in the forefront while two doctors and a nurse are crowded around a patient in an operating theater. The young men sitting in the stands are the medical students. This painting was commissioned by the medical students at University of Pennsylvania Medical School for their retiring Professor of Surgery, Dr. D. Hayes Agnew.
     To gain more understanding on this painting, I could research the clothing of the time period, the history of medicine, medical practices in the late 1800s, or how an operation was done during that time period. In addition, "The Agnew Clinic" also relates to pop culture. For example, in the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery, the character Gilbert Blythe is in medical school during the time this painting was done, andthis scene would have been a familiar one to him. People who would not be interested in this painting would be those who are not interested in medicine, history, medical practices of the past, or are triggered by seeing an operation in a painting. A modern-day picture would be an interesting contrast as it would illustrate how medicine has changed over time viewers would be able to do a compare and contrast between "The Agnew Clinic" and the picture.

Eastern State Penitentiary

   

          In jails across the country, people of all races, creeds, beliefs, and religions are housed in there, some for a period of months, some indefinitely. For many of these people, they have a religion, and/or a belief in God or in a higher power. This was even addressed at Eastern State Penitentiary in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

            When the Penitentiary began in 1829, priests and other religious leaders talked to the prisoners in their cells as the prisoners were not allowed to gather together for worship or services. Starting in 1845, not only did a priest or reverend visit Christian inmates, but Jewish inmates too were allowed to have a rabbi visit them. It was only in the early twentieth century that a synagogue was built in four of the former exercise yards. This synagogue was a place where Jewish inmates could gather for prayer and to celebrate the Jewish holidays. It was in operation until the Penitentiary closed in 1971. Eastern State Penitentiary displays the synagogue as it looked in the early 1960s.

            I could research into the history of synagogue in penitentiary or jails. This would give me the background of how these synagogues came about and what was the catalyst for constructing them. To most people though, they would not be interested because they do not have a connection to Judaism; for those people, a synagogue, especially in a penitentiary, is just another place of worship.