Lot 154
American, perhaps School of Thomas Sully (British-born American, 1783-1872). Portrait of a boy, possibly Alfred Sully, oil on board, 19th century. A charming bust-length portrait depicting a sweet, young boy gazing toward his right with bright blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and wavy blonde hair, donning a black cloak over a white collared shirt typical of the Victorian Era. The background is loosely painted in blue and mauve hues, and the painting is mounted in a custom gold-toned frame. Notes on cardboard backing the verso suggest that this may be a portrait of Thomas Sully's son Alfred Sully. Thomas Sully was a famous Philadelphian portrait painter known for his painterly, romantic style, and Alfred would grow up to become an accomplished U.S. Army military officer as well as an amateur painter. Size (sight view): 8.25" L x 8.125" W (21 cm x 20.6 cm) Size (frame): 13.875" L x 13.875" W (35.2 cm x 35.2 cm)
More about Alfred Sully (1820-1879): Alfred Sully served during the Mexican-American War and the American Indian Wars. He was also Brevet Brigadier General in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Interestingly, he was removed from that position for his failure to stop a mutiny by the 34th New York Infantry Regiment, but was later cleared of any wrongdoing, and went on to have an illustrious military career.
More about Thomas Sully (1783-1872): "Born 19 June 1783, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England. 1792, emigrated with actor parents to Charleston, S.C. Studied art with schoolmate Charles Fraser; brother-in-law, Jean Belzons; and brother, Lawrence Sully, all miniature painters. He, too, began as a miniaturist. Until his brother's death in 1803, they painted together.
1805, married widowed sister-in-law. 1806, moved to New York. Patronage from acquaintances in theater. 1807, brief study with Gilbert Stuart, Boston. 1808, moved permanently to Philadelphia, where he soon became a leading portraitist. 1809, with funds from Philadelphia patrons, spent nine months in London studying under Thomas Lawrence. 1812, elected academician, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
After death of Charles Willson Peale, 1827, he was pre-eminent portrait painter of Philadelphia for remainder of life. 183738, London to paint portrait of Queen Victoria; major success. 1843, declined presidency of Pennsylvania Academy. Traveled frequently to other cities to execute portraits. His register of commissions lists over 2,600 paintings. Died 5 November 1872, Philadelphia." (Source: William Kloss Treasures from the National Museum of American Art (Washington, D.C. and London: National Museum of American Art with the Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985)
"(Thomas) Sully was America's foremost exponent of the highly romanticized, painterly, and fluid style of portraiture practiced by the two contemporary British artists he had most admired during his year of study in England, Sir Henry Raeburn and Sir Thomas Lawrence. Although he painted many of the most prominent politicians, clergymen, and military heroes of his era, Sully's fame rests mainly on his exaggeratedly elegant and idealized portraits of fashionable society women, and, to a lesser extent, his sentimental group portraits of children and 'fancy pictures.' Often painted with a nearly flawless mastery of technique, these ultra-refined images are fundamentally decorative, and the deliberately self-conscious affectations of the sitters create a sense of artificiality that precludes the achievement of any penetrating psychological insight into their characters. This aesthetic, however, appealed greatly to the elite social stratum from which Sully drew his patrons, and earned him the status of being the most successful American portrait painter following the death of Gilbert Stuart in 1828, until his gradual decline in the 1850s. Sully died in Philadelphia in 1872." (National Gallery of Art website)
Notes on verso read: "Thomas Sully (1783-1872)" "Thomas Sully (1783-1872), Am. School" "portrait of the Artist's son, Alfred?" "outside gold insert 10 1/2 x 10 1/2"
Provenance: private Santa Fe, New Mexico USA collection
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#188890
- Condition: Painting presents with normal age wear, a few small scuffs, and areas of stable craquelure. No inpainting. Painting has been tested via x-ray florescence and pigments are consistent with the period. Frame presents with some surface wear and a few stains, otherwise intact and complements the painting nicely.
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