Women Being Abducted by Two Men with Fallen Figure Beneath (from Sketchbook)
1810–20
Medium
ink, 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
53.182.63 recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Sully's *Women Being Abducted by Men with Fallen Figure Beneath*, from his sketchbook dated 1810–20, captures a moment of intense drama in fluid ink lines on paper. As a leading American portraitist of the early 19th, Sully—born in England but flourishing in Philadelphia—often explored dynamic compositions beyond his famous portraits of figures like Queen Victoria. This intimate sketch, measuring just 9 x 11½ inches, reveals his preparatory process, blending neoclassical poise with emerging Romantic energy in a scene evoking abduction and struggle among men and women. Rendered in ink, ...
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...