Pushing for Rail

Thomas Eakins

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The painting depicts a landscape with six men in a field. The men are scattered across the field; one stands still on the left while the others hold long sticks, likely rails, horizontally or vertically. The men are dressed in casual, old-fashioned clothing; one wears a white shirt and jeans; another wears a red shirt; and the rest wear hats with earth-toned clothing. The field they stand in is yellowish-green with tufts of taller grass; it appears to be a harvested field with stubble. The background features a light blue sky with scattered clouds and a distant white structure that resembles a sailboat. The overall scene suggests a rural setting, likely during the 19th century.