Standing Woman; Child Leaning by a Fishbowl; Weeping Putto; Mounted Soldier; Kicking Horse and Fallen Rider; Half-length Seated Figure; Rowboat (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
53.182.22 verso
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Sully's *Standing Woman; Child Leaning a Fishbowl; We Putto; Mounted Soldier; Kicking Horse and Fallen; Half-length Seated Figure; Rowboat (frombook)*, created between 1810 and 1820, offers a captivating glimpse into the working process of one of America's foremost portrait painters. Sully, a British-born artist who emigrated to Philadelphia and became a leading figure in early 19th-century American art, was renowned for his elegant portraits influenced by English masters like Sir Joshua Reynolds. This ink and wash drawing on paper, measuring 9 x 11½ inches, captures a lively assortment...
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...