Two Sketches of Females Looking out of a Window; Seated Female; Mother Playing with Child; Seated Male and Female Looking at a Book (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
53.182.18 recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Sully's *Two Sketches of Females out of a Window; Seated Female; Mother Playing Child; Seated Male Female Looking at a Bookfrom Sketchbook)*, between 1810 and 1820, offers a charming glimpse into early 19th-century American domestic. This intimate page from Sully's sketchbook captures moments: curious women peering from a window, a seated figure in repose, a tender mother-child interaction, and a couple absorbed in a shared book. a leading portraitist of his era, Sully—often compared to British masters like Sir Joshua Reynolds for his elegant brushwork—here reveals the preparatory spont...
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...