Daniel La Motte
1812-1813
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand La Motte III
Accession Number
1983.76
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
Wilmington, Delaware landowner and cotton merchant Daniel la Motte appears in the latest London fashion, his stylish clothes and relaxed demeanor reflecting the current style of portraiture popular in England and Europe. Artist Thomas Sully had just completed a sojourn to London and Paris, returning to Philadelphia prepared to paint sitters like La Motte as American aristocrats. His portrait of La Motte reflects American ambitions to be a great nation, aspiring to cultural parity with the Old Wo...
Art Historical Context
In this elegant portrait from 1812-1813, Thomas Sully captures Daniel La Motte, prominent Wilmington, Delaware landowner and cotton, exuding confidence and refinement. Painted in oil, the work showcases Sully's mastery of portraiture, a genre he elevated in early 19th-century America. Fresh from a transformative sojourn in London and Paris 1810-1812, Sully infused his style with the sophisticated flair of British and European masters like Sir Thomas Lawrence, emphasizing fluid brushwork, rich textures, and a sense of poised naturalism. La Motte appears in the height of London fashion—tailored clothes and a relaxed demeanor—that mirrored the era's popular portrait conventions across the Atlantic. This choice wasn't mere vanity; it symbolized America's growing cultural ambitions during a time of national expansion and the War of 1812. Sully positioned his sitters, like La Motte, as modern aristocrats, bridging New World enterprise with Old World elegance and affirming the young republic's aspirations for global parity. Housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum through a generous gift from Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand La Motte III, this painting offers a window into how art helped forge an American identity—ambitious, stylish, and unapologetically worldly.
About the Artist
Thomas Sully · 1783–1872
Thomas Sully, born on June 19, 1783, in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, to actor parents Matthew Sully and Sarah Chester, emigrated with his family to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1792. Raised in a theatrical environment, young Thomas debuted as a tumbler at age 11 before discovering his artistic talent. He studied miniature painting with his brother Lawrence Sully, brother-in-law Jean Belzon...