KANSAS CITY, Mo. — While paying off the Super Bowl LVII bet, the Philadelphia Museum of Art surprised the Kansas City-based Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art with a second painting for display.
The museums made a wager based on the outcome of the NFL’s championship game, which the Chiefs won 38-35 in a thriller against the Eagles for their second Super Bowl title in four seasons.
As a result, the Philadelphia Museum of Art will loan “Sailing,” a painting by Thomas Eakins, to the Nelson-Atkins for display at a gallery in the museum.
“I was delighted to learn that my fabulous counterpart in Philadelphia, Sasha Suda, made a surprise gesture to bring along the preliminary oil sketch of the Eakins work already hanging in our gallery,” Nelson-Atkins Director and CEO Julián Zugazagoitia said in a statement. “This gives us an enlightening glimpse into Eakins’ creative process.”
The portrait of Monsignor James P. Turner is part of the Nelson-Atkins’ permanent collection, but the sketch belongs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It will be placed next to the finished portrait, giving patrons a unique opportunity to see how Eakins pulled together the final work.
“By adding the sketch for Monsignor James P. Turner to our loan, in addition to the painting ‘Sailing,’ the people of Kansas City will get to see both the process of creation and the masterpiece — that’s an artful win,” said Suda, the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s director and CEO.
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