(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
53.182.53 recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate ink and wash drawing from Thomas Sully's sketchbook, created between 1810 and 1820, offers a glimpse into the working process of one of America's foremost portrait painters. Sully, a Philadelphia-based artist of British birth, was renowned for his elegant portraits of prominent figures like Thomas Jefferson and Queen Victoria. Active during the early Federal period, his neoclassical style blended fluid lines with romantic expressiveness, capturing the poise and vitality of his subjects. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, this 9 x 11½-inch sheet reflects the...
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...