19th-century American Women: 19th-Century American Women by Thomas Sully 1783-1872

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

19th-Century American Women by Thomas Sully 1783-1872

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Not long after his return from eight months study with Benjamin West in London in 1809, Thomas Sully (1783-1872) became, with Gilbert Stuart, one of the most accomplished portraitists in the United States.

Sully was born in England, and came as a boy to Charleston, South Carolina, with his actor-parents. His initial instruction in painting was provided by his Charleston schoolmate, Charles Fraser; his brother-in-law, Jean Belzons; and his older brother, Lawrence Sully, all miniature portrait painters.

In 1799, Thomas followed his brother to Richmond, Virginia; and later both artists worked in Norfolk. Sully became a professional painter at age 18 in 1801. In 1806, he moved to New York City; and in 1807, he traveled to Boston for 3 weeks of instruction from Gilbert Stuart. Later that year he settled in Philadelphia, where he remained for his long career. Only a few of his amazing output of portraits are represented here.

1808 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Sally Etting.

1809 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mary Abigail Willing Cole.

1812 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Margaret Siddons (Mrs Benjamin Kintzing).

1813 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mary Harvey.

1813 Thomas Sully (1783-1872) Mrs. Caleb Newbold and Son.

1814 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Anna Minor, Mrs Joseph Klapp.

1822 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Elizabeth Bordley (Mrs. James Gibson).

1830 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs. William Griffin.

1830 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mary Anne Heide Norris.

1830 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs C. Ford.

1831 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs. Don Juan Didios Sebastian.

1831 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs. Ebenezer Stott.

1832 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Abby Ann King Turner Van Pelt.

1833 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Frances Ann Kemble.

1834 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Ann Biddle Hopkinson (Mrs. Francis Hopkinson).

1834 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Blanche Sully.

1834 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). The Love Letter.

1835 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Jane Cooper Sully.

1836 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mary Ann Paton (Mrs. Wood).

1837 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Elizabeth Anne Bates.

1838 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Queen Victoria.

1839 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Ann Elliott of Beaufort, South Carolina.

1839 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Blanch Sully.

1839 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). The Gypsy.

1839 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). The Student.

1840 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mother & Son.

1842 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Girl Reading.

1842 Thomas Sully (1783-1872) Mrs. George Lingen.

1844 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs. James Robb and Her 3 Children.

1845 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs James Montgomery Jr.

1851 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Alexander Family.

1858 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Sarah Leveing Riter (Mrs. Thomas Fitzgerald)

1863 Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Missy Kieps.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mother & Child.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Elizabeth Blair Lee.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Elizabeth McEuen Smith.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Elizabeth Wharton (Mrs. William J. McCluney)

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Girl in Pink.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Gossip.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Lady.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Lady With A Harp.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Miranda.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Miss Pearce.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mother and Child.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs. Fitzgerald and Daughter.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs. Katherine Matthews.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs Edward Hudson.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs Henry McIlvaine.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs Williams of Port Deposit.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Pocahontas.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Queen Victoria.

Thomas Sully (1783-1872).

Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Rebecca Gratz.
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9 comments:

One More Stitch said...: Mrs. L's straw hat is my favourite one and Blanche Sully's could almost step out of the canvas!

Sully is one of my favourite painters - this was delightful!; November 19, 2010 at 12:55 PM
BWS said...: I agree, his women are both classical and human.; November 19, 2010 at 3:32 PM
Lisa Murphy said...: Hello,

I am writing an Antebellum historical fiction and was surfing for images of people to keep in my head as I write. I particularly enjoyed your site, and thank you for the images. I have chosen several of the women as background for my characters. A wonderful site. Lisa; December 19, 2010 at 8:27 PM
BWS said...: Thank you very much for your kind words.; December 19, 2010 at 11:16 PM
Carla Gade said...: Beautiful portraits. Nice reference for the hair and clothing styles as well.; April 19, 2011 at 4:12 PM
Barbara said...: Thank you, Carla.; April 19, 2011 at 10:44 PM
Mini Okie said...: Thanks for posting the paintings. I am looking for one by Thomas Sully of Mrs Benjamin Howell (Frances Howell). According to book "The Life and Works of Thomas Sully" by Edward Fielding on pages 179-180, there are several paintings of the Howell family including one with Frances Howell and her two children. I would love to find these paintings since I am a descendant. Do you have any suggestions on how to locate these paintings?; September 9, 2011 at 6:02 PM
Barbara said...: Go here to find what you are looking for

http://bit.ly/nmQm7v; September 10, 2011 at 9:38 PM
Melani said...: Wow! He certainly specialized in beautiful women--and what character in their faces! I am fascinated by this, as I am a student of the Indian Wars, and am familiar with his son, Gen. Alfred Sully. Thank you for this beautiful site!; February 16, 2013 at 12:25 AM

How this blog works

President John Adams declared, “History is not the Province of the Ladies.” Oh well, I'll give it a try. Images & essays cluster around some chronological, social, cultural, or academic theme. Because I am a boring, old historian, I am interested in comparing & contrasting & looking at change over time. I try to choose images that justify their inclusion on aesthetic grounds. I do not offer complete image credit lines or footnotes, as my goal is to entice blog visitors to begin researching for themselves. (Graded enough papers as a TA to know that some undergrads are tempted to borrow.)

About history & the 19th-century

This blog will focus on how the lives of American women changed over the 19th century. It will use first-hand accounts whenever possible; so that the reader can compare & contrast those changes over time. Because there is an explosion of visual evidence across classes from print & photographic advances, this blog will use photos, prints, & paintings extensively.

History is certainly not a science. It is not the absolute truth. It is constantly changing as fresh evidence & new interpretations flash into view. As those looking at history peel away the tired, old suppositions, they add new (but already growing old) assumptions of their own.

History reflects not just the prejudices of the period under study, but also the biases of those studying it. Since each person focusing on a historical period brings a different perspective & goal to the task, historians often interpret the same period of the past in vastly different ways.

History before 1800 is often skewed; because only the few, the powerful, & the wealthy kept written records of events.

This bias begins to change during the 19th century, when more people begin to read & write and the government begins to keep more records about citizens, especially census data.

And yet, events only advance & take a particular shape, because of the everyday actions of the nameless many who give them the energy to move forward.

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Using Primary Sources

This blog will use as much original evidence as possible to allow the reader to draw conclusions.

Primary sources can give us a sense of the real differences between the past and the present; a context for understanding how ideas came about at a certain place in time; a realization that there are few neat linear narratives; a recognition of how our concept of the past has been shaped by people who have written about it.

Primary sources are documents and artifacts created during the time being studied or shortly after by a participant as a memoir. They are infused with the spirit of the time in which they were created. First-hand accounts bring a human voice to history, but they surely do not speak for themselves, they must be interpreted.

Primary sources force us to ask what those who created these surviving records must have believed or desired or deemed valuable in order to understand their ideas and actions.

Primary sources do not allow us to passively accept the historical conclusions of others. For a study of 19th century America, surviving manuscripts, letters, diaries, & journals; newpaper accounts; court, church & land records; and artifacts such as photos, portraits, & archaelogical finds, are the original evidence needed to compile good history. Good history results from the examination of countless primary sources to reach a general conclusion about a time period or event.

Good history is not deciding a conclusion in advance and then picking only those sources which support that foregone interpretation. The least/best theory of collecting the least amount of the best evidence to construct a convincing argument about an issue or period under study may be expedient in mathematics, but it does not work well in any serious study of history. Without gathering a hefty quantity of primary source evidence, how can a historian determine which is the best evidence? Good history is not based on one or two anecdotal incidents or descriptions manipulated into a generalized conclusion about the whole.

In this blog we will be looking at snippets of history. Exploring individual anecdotal incidents may be fun; but they are not good history, until they are woven into the whole.

Portraits, Prints, & Photos of American Women

In the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, only the relatively wealthy had the means to hire a painter for portraits of their loved ones.

However, with the advent of photography in the middle of the 19th century, most could afford family photos, thereby giving us a larger window to view all segments of society.

The date of early photographs can often be identified by the process. Most early photographic portraits are either daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, or paper prints.

Daguerreotype (1839-1860s): metal photograph with a reflective surface, sometimes found in a case.

Ambrotype (invented 1854): Negative image on glass that appears as a positive due to being backed with a dark material. Usually found in a case because of their fragility.

Ferreotype or tintype (invented 1856): Usually dark metal images on thin sheets of iron either in cases, with paper mats, or alone.

Paper Print (commonly available 1860): Photographs usually mounted on cardboard.

This blog will feature painted portraits of women (mostly from the 1st half of the century) plus prints & photos (mostly from the 2nd half of the 19th century) along with written primary source documents, because all yield valid information about the period.

The purpose of sharing art in the context of history on this blog is to promote knowledge of & interest in art. All a blog can do is present images. An image simply cannot replace seeing an art object in person, in context. The 3rd dimension is missing in an image, as is the emotional experience of confronting a work just as its creator did. If you can see a work in person, do. The difference between an image & a painting can take your breath away.