Man in Cape with Staff Watching Melee; Seated Woman (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
53.182.67 recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 19th century, artist Thomas Sully, renowned his elegant portraits influenced by British masters like Sir Joshua Reynolds, filled his sketchbooks with lively studies that captured fleeting moments and figures. This double-sided page from around 1810–20, housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, showcases two vignettes: on one side, a cloaked man with a staff observes a chaotic melee, evoking dramatic tension; on the other, a poised seated woman exudes quiet grace. Rendered in ink and wash on paper (9 x 11½ inches), these sketches highlight Sully's fluid line work an...
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...