Benjamin Howard Rand was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 academic physician at Jefferson Medical College. He is depicted in Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand

Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand

Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand is an 1874 painting by Thomas Eakins. It is oil on canvas and depicts Benjamin H. Rand, a doctor at Jefferson Medical College who taught Eakins anatomy. In the painting, Rand is reading a book while petting a cat....

, an 1874 painting by Thomas Eakins

Thomas Eakins

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

. It is oil

Oil painting

Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...

 on canvas

Canvas

Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...

 and depicts Rand reading a book while petting a cat.

Rand was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Jefferson in 1848. Rand had taught Eakins high school chemistry. From 1852 to 1864 Rand was secretary to the Academy of Natural Sciences

Academy of Natural Sciences

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the New World...

. Rand later became the chair of chemistry at the Franklin Institute

Franklin Institute

The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...

, the Philadelphia Medical College until its closure in 1861, and served as Dean of Jefferson Medical College from 1864 to May 1877. He retired at age 50 due to health reasons.

In April 2007, the portrait of Rand was purchased by Alice L. Walton for an estimated US$20 million and will be housed at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

External links

• Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand via the Eakins Gallery