Artwork
Alfred Sully
Alfred Sully is a watercolor painting by the American Impressionist artist Thomas Sully. It dates from 1839 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Classified within the genre of portraiture, the work measures seven inches in both height and width, resulting in a square format.
Created in 1839 by Thomas Sully, the portrait of Alfred Sully is executed as a watercolor on an ivory support. Classified within the genre of portraiture, the work measures seven inches in both height and width, resulting in a square format. The piece is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, specifically within the American Wing.
As a miniature portrait, the medium of watercolor on ivory was a standard and refined technique for capturing likeness during this period, allowing for delicate handling of facial features and texture on the small scale.
History & Provenance
Thomas Sully painted the watercolor portrait titled Alfred Sully in 1839, depicting his son Alfred Sully as a young man. The work, executed in watercolor on ivory and measuring approximately 7 by 7 inches, is classified as a portrait and is housed in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Its provenance traces from the artist's studio to the museum's holdings.
The work is listed under the museum's collection without a publicly disclosed accession or inventory number in the consulted records, and no exhibition history is documented in the provided sources.
Context
The 1839 watercolor portrait of Alfred Sully by Thomas Sully, held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, exemplifies American miniature portraiture of the period. The work depicts the artist's son and illustrates how mid-nineteenth-century American artists adapted European miniature techniques to domestic subjects, marking its place within both Thomas Sully's oeuvre and the broader narrative of American portraiture.
Overview
This miniature portrait features Alfred Sully, depicted in formal attire and engaging the viewer with a direct gaze. Rendered with meticulous attention to detail, the artwork captures the subject's likeness using the refined medium of watercolor on ivory. The small scale and intricate execution underscore the artist's proficiency in handling fine details, a hallmark of this specialized form of portraiture.
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…
- Portrait of a Man with a Cleft Lip
Portrait of a Man with a Hairlip
Portrait of a Gentleman
Benjamin Kintzing
George IV (1762–1830) as Prince Regent, after Lawrence
Zelfportret
Portrait of a Man
Portrait of a Man
Portrait of a Gentleman
Portrait of a Man, possibly Alexander I, Emperor of Russia
Portrait of a Man, possibly Alexander I, Emperor of Russia
Self-portrait