Four 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 verso
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Sully's *Four Figure Studies (from Sketchbook)*, created between 1810 and 1820, offers a glimpse into the preparatory process of one of America's foremost portrait painters. Born in England and trained in the United States, Sully was a master of the Romantic style, blending British influences like those of Sir Joshua Reynolds with a distinctly American flair. Active in Philadelphia and later New York, he captured the likenesses of presidents, celebrities, and everyday sitters during this formative period of his career, when the young nation was defining its cultural identity. Rendered ...
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...