Six Figure Studies (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
53.182.40 recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Sully's *Six Figure Studies (frombook)*, created between 1810 and 1820, offers a rare glimpse into the preparatory process of one of America's foremost portrait painters. Sully (1783–1872), who emigrated from England to Philadelphia as a child, became renowned for his elegant portraits of prominent figures, blending neoclassical precision with emerging Romantic flair. This intimate sheet from his sketchbook, housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, captures six dynamic human figures—both male and female nudes—in fluid ink lines and subtle washes on paper, measuring just...
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...