Dying Figure in the Arms of a Woman; Praying Woman; Standing Woman; Architectual Detail; Sleeping Figure (from Sketchbook)
1810–20
Medium
Ink, wash, on paper
Dimensions
9 x 11 1/2 in. (22.9 x 29.2 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.182.25 verso
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Sully's *Dying Figure in the Arms a Woman; Praying; Standing Woman; Architectural; Sleeping Figure* ( Sketchbook), created between 1810 and 1820, offers a rare glimpse into the preparatory process of one of America's foremost portraitists. Sully, a British artist who emigrated to Philadelphia in 1792, was renowned for his elegant, Reynolds-inspired portraits of luminaries like Queen Victoria and Thomas Jefferson. This sheet from his sketchbook captures multiple studies in ink and wash on paper, showcasing his fluid draftsmanship during his formative years in the early 19th century, when...
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...