Dear Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Board of Trustees, Administrators, Students, Faculty and Donors,

We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with artist Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter and her work to correct the narrative of Thomas Eakins as detailed in the Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed, “Let’s Talk About Thomas Eakins, Philly’s Revered Sexual Predator” (October 21, 2021). Together we denounce the progression of institutional failures at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) to address its dissemination of sexually explicit photographs of children and its active erasure of violent acts committed by Thomas Eakins. As a result of this blind veneration, Eakins continues to be recognized for his work by PAFA, the City of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Mural Arts and the Pew Charitable Trust, without an acknowledgement and accurate account of his historical victimization of children and women, particularly Black American young girls as seen in the image "African-American girl nude, reclining on couch" (1882).

We citizens of Philadelphia, our allies, and supporters do not espouse the ethics, values, morals, or practices of this monster. In response to the lack of accountability for the sexually explicit photographs of children made available by PAFA as well as their inaction and lack of appropriate response to their continued promotion of Eakins, we are demanding that a formal apology be made to the Black community and children’s welfare community.

We are demanding the following from PAFA, the City of Philadelphia and all Eakins affiliated institutions:

·   Remove the name Thomas Eakins from all landmarks. It is a privilege to be recognized by your community, not a right. Eakins has forfeited this consideration.

·   Include a full account of Thomas Eakins in all historic and art materials and why his name is removed from public statues and tributes.

·     A formal apology directly addressing the Black Community for the institutions continuing to celebrate a known predator even after scholarship and research has shown Eakins to be known sexual violator.

·     Uplift the scholarship of renowned MacArthur Fellows Saidiya Hartman and Fred Moten, as well as other well researched thinkers who have written extensively regarding Eakins and the institutions' dissemination of sexually violent images which continues to perpetuate harms.

·     Reject the statement PAFA made using Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter’s name. Baxter did not endorse PAFA’s statement and is still waiting for them to fulfill their promises.

·     Repatriation of these harmful images through safe reclamation to an African American institution and out of historically white institutions. The repatriation should also include funding to ensure the safekeeping of the images at the designated institution.

·     Commitment to continuing an education regarding Thomas Eakins and a larger series of conversations about destructive imagery that harms communities, women, students and the city’s arts education.  

·     Repair for people harmed by these images, particularly Black girls, and an acknowledgement of the exploitation of the unknown Black girl in Eakins’ photographs and the continued exploitation of the Black community, particularly Black girls.

·     Redress for centuries of harms and generational trauma suffered by young Black women, families, and communities in Philadelphia and across the country. We demand a fellowship for young and mature Black women in the arts in honor of the unknown Black girl in Eakins’ photos. This monumental fellowship should be stewarded by Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter and invested community members chosen by the members of the undersigned.

·     We understand that full reparations are due to the descendants of chattel slavery in Philadelphia and Black Americans nationally, and we are demanding, in addition to the fellowship, that monetary resources be invested in Black women and girls who continue to bear the legacy and lineage of these harms.


Social movements across the United States continue to demand that Black, Brown, and indigenous Bodies matter. It is time for Philadelphia to listen, respect and finally address and act to rectify its harmful history of perpetuating oppressive, racist and sexist erasure.

We need more than empty, inactive statements. We need sustained accountability and the practice of a practical application of the demands named here. This includes the critical feedback of the undersigned members of the Black community in Philadelphia.

In all, we are demanding that PAFA, the City of Philadelphia and all of its institutions formally cease and desist their love affair with Thomas Eakins. We hope that you will join us as we insist on repair.

In solidarity,