(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
53.182.79 recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate ink and wash sketch from Thomas Sully's sketchbook created between 1810 and 1820, offers a glimpse into the preparatory world of one of America's foremost portrait painters. Sully, a British-born artist who thrived in Philadelphia and later New York, was renowned for his elegant, romantic portraits of prominent figures like Queen Victoria and Thomas Jefferson. Working in the neoclassical tradition with romantic flair, he filled his sketchbooks with quick studies to capture the fluidity of life—here, likely featuring human figures, children, and animals in everyday poses. Rendere...
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...