Artwork
The Vanderkemp Children
The Vanderkemp Children is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Thomas Sully. It dates from 1832 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower center on portfolio: TS (in monogram) 1832
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting entered the National Gallery of Art collection in 1966, preserving its role as a visual document of the Vanderkemp family's status.
The Vanderkemp Children is an 1832 oil on canvas portrait by Thomas Sully depicting two young children in formal dress. As a formal portrait it serves as a record of family identity and social standing in early American society. The composition highlights the children's youthful innocence through delicate features and soft lighting, and by placing them together it suggests familial unity and the transmission of family values.
The painting entered the National Gallery of Art collection in 1966, preserving its role as a visual document of the Vanderkemp family's status.
Technique & Style
The Vanderkemp Children is executed in oil on canvas, a medium Thomas Sully frequently employed for his portraiture. The work measures approximately 70.9 cm in height and 90.5 cm in width. The work is identified as a portrait, consistent with Sully's focus on likeness representation.
History & Provenance
The Vanderkemp Children was executed in 1832 by Thomas Sully in oil on canvas, measuring 70.9 cm by 90.5 cm. Early records place the painting with Ehrich Galleries in New York between 1920 and 1921, and a stretcher label references an owner identified only as Mrs. B. M. Liddell, whose identity remains unknown. The work subsequently entered the collection of Countess Mona Bismarck in Paris. In 1966 it was gifted to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., by Countess Mona Bismarck, with no provenance details supplied at that time.
Overview
Thomas Sully completed The Vanderkemp Children, an oil on canvas painting, in 1832. This group portrait depicts three young individuals, capturing their likeness and interaction. The work exemplifies Sully's approach to portraiture during the early 19th century, focusing on the individual characteristics of his sitters within a domestic context.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Thomas Sully was an English-American portrait painter. He was born in England, became a naturalized American citizen in 1809, and lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including in the Thomas Sully…
