Thomas Sully

Thomas Sully ( born June 19, 1783 in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, † November 5, 1872 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American painter of the 19th century.

Life

Thomas Sully was the son of actor couple Matthew and Sarah Sully. In March 1792 the family emigrated Sully with their nine children to Richmond, Virginia, from - where his uncle ran a theater. Thomas Sully went to school in New York City when his mother died in 1794 and he returned to Richmond. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Charleston, South Carolina. After a brief apprenticeship as insurance broker, where his artistic talent was recognized, Sully began painting at the age of about 12 years. Sully studied painting with the well-known portrait painter Gilbert Stuart in Boston and went on to Virginia to learn the art of miniature painting by his brother Jean Belzons. In 1799 he was back in Richmond and worked with his older brother Lawrence Sully ( 1769-1804 ), in a studio. After his brother's death, Sully married his widowed sister in law, Sarah Annis Sully. In addition to the children from the first marriage six children were from the common connection, Alfred, Mary, Jane, Blanche, Rosalie and Thomas Wilcocks forth. With the family, he moved to Philadelphia in 1806.

In 1809 Thomas Sully traveled to England, where in London he studied at the Royal Academy of Arts under Benjamin West and worked. Upon his return to Philadelphia he made several portraits of politics and society, including John Quincy Adams, Marie -Joseph Motier, Marquis de La Fayette and Thomas Jefferson. Between 1837 and 1838 he was back in England and portrayed the young Queen Victoria on behalf of Philadelphia 's St. George's Society. His daughter Blanche assisted him and was the model, when the Queen was not available. Thomas Sully created high-contrast, colorful, idealized images modeled after the English portrait painter Sir Thomas Lawrence and Benjamin West.

Worth mentioning

  • His book tips for young painters was published after his death.
  • His son, Alfred Sully, was brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
  • John Neagle married Mary Chester Sully in 1826, the niece and stepdaughter of Thomas Sully.
  • Sully is the great uncle of the architect Thomas Sully ( 1855-1939 ).

Works (selection)

Portrait of Margaret Siddons Kintzing, oil on canvas, 1812

Portrait of Queen Victoria, oil on canvas, 1837/1838

Portrait of Queen Victoria, oil on canvas, 1837/1838

Charleston (South Carolina) Model (art) Integrated Authority File
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