American painter and teacher, Thomas Pollock Anshutz is best known for his portraits and genre scenes. He co-founded The Darby School and was one of Thomas Eakins' most prominent students. After Eakins' death, Anshutz became the director of the painting and drawing classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Anshutz is best known for his large and impressive portraits of his students.

During the 1880s, Anshutz's early works reflected his interest in the history of industrial America. He had the opportunity to attend the Academie Julian, the first college for the motion picture industry, and then returned to the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied with Thomas Eakins. In 1872, he was a teaching assistant for Eakins, and his works were highly regarded.

In 1892, Anshutz moved to Philadelphia, where he became a teaching assistant to Eakins. He spent the next year studying at the prestigious Academie Julian in Paris under Adolphe-William Bouguereau. While there, he learned to paint landscapes, portraits, and figure studies in oils and watercolors. After leaving the academy, he continued to study art and became a highly influential instructor in his home city of Philadelphia.

Anshutz also taught at the school for many years, and became a prominent figure painter in the United States. Although he was known for his works of art, he also had a teaching career.