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Rebecca Pue Dobbin, by Thomas Sully, c. 1840? Oil on canvas. 30 1/32 x 24 61/64 in. (76.3 x 63.4 cm.) Maryland Historical Society
Accession: 1986-89-2.
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Elizabeth Evans Wethered (Mrs. Samuel Wethered), by Thomas Sully, 1853. Oil on canvas. 30 13/64 x 24 51/64 in. (76.7 x 63.0 cm.) Maryland Historical Society, Accession: 1987-19-2.
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Josiah Bayly, by Thomas Sully, 1815. Oil on canvas. 30 1/32 x 25 in. (76.3 x 63.5 cm.) Maryland Historical Society, Accession: 1954-125-1.
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Medium/Discipline: Painting
Birthplace: England
Maryland Affiliation: Depicts Maryland subjects, Active while in residence
Prominent Theme: Portraits
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Biography: The most popular portraitist of the mid-Atlantic region for more than two generations, Thomas Sully was responsible for the artistic training of a number of artists central to Maryland art history, including Alfred Jacob Miller, Sarah Miriam Peale and Philip Tilyard. Though Sully settled in Philadelphia in 1810, he visited Baltimore often, especially during the 1820s and 1850s. He painted portraits of prominent Baltimore citizens, including cultural leader Fielding Lucas. Thomas Sully was born in England to parents who performed in theatre productions, and was brought to Charleston, S.C. in 1792. Sully went into partnership with his brother Lawrence, a miniaturist and device painter in Richmond and Norfolk until 1803. His career in portraiture began when he went to New York City in 1806, where he painted portraits of theatre performers. Sully went to Europe in 1809 for the first time; he studied with Benjamin West and Sir Thomas Lawrence while in London. Sully was a prolific, renowned artist during his time such that he was commissioned to go to England in 1837-8 to paint a portrait of Queen Victoria.
Art-related Employment: painter; director of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
Selected References: Pleasants, J. Hall. Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Painting in Maryland (Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art), 1945.
Maryland Institutions Holding Artworks: Baltimore Museum of Art; Maryland Historical Society; Walters Art Museum
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