William Sergeant Kendall, Quest (1910)

For Eakins's Academy students who later became sculptors, his teaching made only a limited contribution to their development. Their studies at the Academy consisted of a brief stint in the antique class and longer hours in the dissecting room and modeling classes. It was understood that the sculpture students would learn advanced techniques and styles in Europe. The mature works of most of Eakins's sculpture students, in spite of the various styles and media they employed, have in common a thorough understanding of human anatomy. All of the sculptors were interested in the physical details which gave the subject character and individuality. Although Sergeant Kendall'sQuest (cat. no. 236), a wooden polychromed figure, represents an ideal rather than a person, the artist has also created a strong likeness of the model which belies the generalized title.
--Thomas Eakins and The Academy

By Louise Lippincott (1976)