1783-1872 Thomas Sully Galleries Sully became a professional painter at age 18 in 1801. He studied face-painting under Gilbert Stuart in Boston for three weeks. After some time in Virginia with this brother, Sully moved to New York, after which he moved to Philadelphia in 1806, where he resided for the remainder of his life. In 1809 he traveled to London for nine months of study under Benjamin West. Sully's 1824 portraits of John Quincy Adams, who became President within the year, and then the Marquis de Lafayette appear to have brought him to the forefront of his day. (His Adams portrait may be seen in the National Gallery of Art, Washington.) Many famous Americans of the day had their portraits painted by him. In 1837-1838 he was in London to paint Queen Victoria at the request of Philadelphia's St. George's Society. His daughter Blanche assisted him as the Queen's "stand-in", modeling the Queen's costume when she was not available. One of Sully's portraits of Thomas Jefferson is owned by the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society at the University of Virginia and hangs in that school's Rotunda. Another Jefferson portrait, this one head-to-toe, hangs at West Point, as is his portrait of Alexander Macomb (American general). Sully's own index indicates that he produced 2631 paintings from 1801, most of which are currently in the United States. His style resembles that of Thomas Lawrence. Though best known as a portrait painter, Sully also made historical pieces and landscapes. An example of the former is the 1819 Passage of the Delaware, now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  Related Paintings of Thomas Sully :. | This text was adapted from Davis | The Torn Hat | Sarah Reeve Ladson | Portrat der Eliza Ridgely | Major John Biddle |
Related Artists:
John Wesley Jarvis
(1781 - January 14, 1839), American painter, nephew of Methodist leader John Wesley, was born at South Shields, England, and was taken to the United States at the age of five. He was one of the earliest American painters to give serious attention to the study of anatomy. He lived at first in Philadelphia, afterwards establishing himself in New York City, where he enjoyed great popularity, though his conviviality and eccentric mode of life affected his work. He visited Baltimore, Charleston, and New Orleans, entertaining much and painting portraits of prominent people, particularly in New Orleans, where General Andrew Jackson was one of his sitters. He had for assistants at different times both Thomas Sully and Henry Inman. He affected singularity in dress and manners, and his mots were the talk of the day. But his work deteriorated, and he died in great poverty in New York City.
George Edmund Varian
American Artist 1865-1923
Sawrey Gilpin
1733-1807 English Sawrey Gilpin Gallery Gilpin was born 30 Oct 1733 in Cumbria, the son Captain John Bernard Gilpin, a soldier and amateur artist. His elder brother William Gilpin was a clergyman, schoolmaster, and author of several influential works on picturesque scenery. Apprenticed to the marine painter Samuel Scott of Covent Garden, Sawrey came to specialise in painting animals, particularly horses and dogs, which he sometimes added to backgrounds by other artists, including Philip Reinagle, George Barret and J. M. W. Turner. He was patronised by Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Gilpin was Director and President of the Society of Artists, and a member of the Royal Academy from 1796. Sawrey Gilpin married Elizabeth Broom; their son William Sawrey Gilpin also became an artist, and in later life a landscape gardener. He died at Broughton, Northamptonshire, England in 1807. Works by Sawrey Gilpin are in the collections of the Courtauld Institute of Art , Tate Britain [3], and the Royal Academy in London and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.