Top 10 Most Famous Paintings by Thomas Sully

Who Is Thomas Sully?

Thomas Sully was an portrait painter. He was born in the UK, however he spent the majority of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

If you love to collect beautiful paintings and admire evocative landscapes, you will enjoy the works of Thomas Sully.

Famous paintings by Thomas Sully include The Passage of the Delaware, The Torn Hat, The Coleman Sisters, and Captain Charles Stewart.

One of the most impressive aspects of Sully's work is the luminous skin tones of his portraits. Sully was influenced by the Romantic portraitist Sir Thomas Lawrence, whose paintings have a sense of romanticism and warmth.

So without further ado, here are 10 of Thomas Sully's most famous paintings:  

1. The Passage of The Delaware by Thomas Sully
2. The Torn Hat by Thomas Sully
3. The Coleman Sisters by Thomas SullyStewart by Thomas Sully
4. The Capture of Major André by Thomas Sully
5. Daniel La Motte by Thomas Sully
6. Mrs. Robert Gilmor, Jr. (Sarah Reeve Ladson) by Thomas Sully
7. Portrait of George Washington by Thomas Sully
8. Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire by Thomas Sully
9. Portrait of Blanch by Thomas Sully

Thomas Sully Artworks 

The Passage of The Delaware by Thomas Sully

The Passage of the Delaware is a large painting by Thomas Sully, depicting George Washington riding on horseback.

Sully also created many other paintings of similar battle themes, including The Battle of New Orleans, The Battle of the Alamo, and The Conquest of the Louisiana Purchase.

The painting is an excellent example of an American classic. This painting depicts a crucial moment in American history.

Sully painted it during the triumph of George Washington, a period in which artists, writers, and politicians sought to capture the heroic deeds of the founding fathers. Sully's painting embodies the character and drama of the Revolution. 

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The Torn Hat by Thomas Sully

The Torn Hat by Thomas Sully was somewhat unusual for that period. In an early nineteenth-century portrait, the boy is off-center in his rumpled jacket and open shirt. He is also wearing a straw hat.

At that time, less restrictive clothing for children was becoming increasingly popular, and play was seen as beneficial for young people.

Thomas Sully's portrait of a young boy demonstrates the artist's skill with fluid painting techniques.

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The Coleman Sisters by Thomas Sully

This beautiful portrait by Thomas Sully illustrates the Cinderella fantasy by Charles Perrault.

The Coleman Sisters by Thomas Sully is a beautiful and romantic portraiture of sisters that celebrates the innocence of childhood.

Although it was done for fundraising, Sully completed it in just two months. He used the Coleman sisters as models in between sittings. 

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Captain Charles Stewart by Thomas Sully

In this 1811 oil painting of Captain Charles Stewart, the famous naval commander stands with his feet spread apart, bracing himself as if he were planted firmly on the deck.

He poses in an assertive pose, with his thumb aggressively pressing down on the world globe and naval charts.

The painting's white lower half is a striking contrast to the shaded room, and a shaft of sunlight reveals the captain's cocked elbow and vigorous stance.

Sully's portraits depicted a broad spectrum of people, from famous politicians and prominent figures to common people.

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The Capture of Major André by Thomas Sully

The Capture of Major André depicts the events leading up to the capture of André. André was in neutral territory when he was captured, he was accompanied by three men, one of whom was a recent escapee from a British prison in New York.

André was wearing a Hessian uniform coat borrowed from the British. The three men mistakenly thought André was a Loyalist, but he later discovered that he was an adjutant general to Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander.

Sully first painted the scene in 1834 and was then known as "The Young Painter of Philadelphia" by the Philadelphia Society of Artists. The painting is a popular subject and was included in the Art-Union's 1845 lottery.

Cornelius Van Horn was the winner of the painting, and the painting was kept in a private collection for years.

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Daniel La Motte by Thomas Sully

Sully depicts Daniel la Motte wearing the newest London fashion, and his chic attire and laid-back demeanor mirror the contemporary portraiture trend in England and Europe.

Daniel la Motte, was a cotton businessman and landowner from Wilmington, Delaware. 

Top 10 Most Famous Paintings by Thomas Sully

 

Mrs. Robert Gilmor, Jr. (Sarah Reeve Ladson) by Thomas Sully

Mrs. Robert Gilmor Jr. married into a prominent Charleston family. She was the daughter of Major James Ladson and Judith Smith.

She was widely regarded as one of the most beautiful women of her time and had many portraits painted.

Horatio Greenough also painted a portrait of Sarah, which is in the Gibbes collection. Sarah is also the subject of a figurative painting by Horatio G. C. Lee.

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Portrait of George Washington by Thomas Sully

Thomas Sully's painting, "Portrait of the President" (also known as the Portrait of George Washington). Draws influences from paintings of battle scenes popular in Europe at the time.

The marble bust of Washington by Giuseppe Ceracchi also may have been a major influence.

Sully's painting, however, was the first to be recognized as an important painting in the public collection of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

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Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire by Thomas Sully

Thomas Sully started to produce "fancy paintings" of academic and romantic themes for the public in the late 1830s as a solution to his financial difficulties.

One of Sully's biggest and most popular works is this painting that depicts the story of Cinderella by Charles Perrault.

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Portrait of Blanch by Thomas Sully

His daughter Blanch frequently served as his model for female subjects in between sittings. In this work, she is portrayed in an elegant position with her left head turned, emphasizing her slim neck and trendy hairdo.

Sully blurred the background so that we might focus on his darling daughter's serene oval face. 

 

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