Presentation Scene (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
53.182.82 recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Sully's *Presentation Scene (from Sketch)*, created between 1810 and 1820, offers a glimpse into the preparatory world of one of America's leading portraitists. Sully, a Philadelphia-based artist of British descent, was renowned for his elegant, Romantic-style portraits that captured the poise of early 19th-century American elites. This intimate sketch, housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, likely depicts a formal introduction or ceremonial moment involving men and women, reflecting the social rituals of the young republic's upper classes during a time of growing nat...
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...