Robert Walsh

1814

Thomas Sully

Artist, American, born England, 1783 - 1872

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 77 x 63.6 cm (30 5/16 x 25 1/16 in.)
    framed: 100.7 x 88.6 x 9.5 cm (39 5/8 x 34 7/8 x 3 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1947.17.11

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The sitter's grandson, Dr. J. F. Walsh; his son, Henry C. Walsh, New York; Frank Bulkeley Smith [1864-1918], Worcester, Massachusetts; (his estate sale, American Art Association, New York, 22-23 April 1920, no. 136); W. J. Kain, New York;[1] Thomas B. Clarke [1848-1931], New York; his estate; sold as part of the Clarke collection 29 January 1936, through (M. Knoedler & Co., New York), to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1947 to NGA.
[1] W. J. Kain was reported as the buyer of the painting in newspaper coverage of the Smith sale. His name is given as William Kane in other records in NGA curatorial files. He may have been acting for Thomas B. Clarke, as Clarke records indicate he bought the painting at the same sale. (This note does not appear in the provenance as published in the NGA systematic catalogue entry.)

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1840

  • February Exhibition, The Apollo Association, New York, 1840, no. 24.

1921

  • Exhibition of Paintings by Early American Portrait Painters, The Union League Club, New York, December 1921, no. 2.

1922

  • Memorial Exhibition of Portraits by Thomas Sully, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1922, no. 107.

1928

  • Portraits by Early American Artists of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Collected by Thomas B. Clarke, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1928-1931, unnumbered and unpaginated catalogue.

1946

  • Washington Irving and His Circle, M. Knoedler and Co., New York, 1946.

1948

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1948.

1950

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1950.

1951

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1951.

1953

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1953.

1955

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1955.

1969

  • Inaugural Exhibition: American Portraits, The Art Museum, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 1969, no cat.

1973

  • President Monroe's Message, an Exhibition Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine 1823-1973, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1973-1974, no. 32.

  • Thomas Sully 1783-1872, Bedford Gallery, Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia, 1973, no. 5.

1974

  • Selected American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, University Center Gallery, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, 1974, no cat.

1975

  • Extended loan for use by the Ambassador, U.S. Embassy residence, Dublin, Ireland, 1975-1978.

1986

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador Ronald Lauder, U.S. Embassy residence, Vienna, Austria, 1986-1990.

Bibliography

1909

  • Hart 1909, no. 1775, 172.

1921

  • Biddle, Edward, and Mantle Fielding. The Life and Works of Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Philadelphia, 1921: no. 1877, 308.

1922

  • Catalogue of the Memorial Exhibition of Portraits by Thomas Sully. Exh. cat. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1922: no. 107, 76.

1928

  • Portraits by Early American Artists of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Collected by Thomas B. Clarke. Exh. cat. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1928, unnumbered.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 114, repro.

1973

  • Flynn, Elizabeth L. Thomas Sully, 1783-1872. Exh. cat. Bedford Gallery, Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia, 1973: 13, repro.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 245, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 360, repro.

1998

  • Torchia, Robert Wilson, with Deborah Chotner and Ellen G. Miles. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part II. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1998: 144-146, color repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20183532

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