Thomas Sully
Portrait of the Misses Mary and Emily McEuen1823

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Classical Revivals in Europe and America

Artist or Maker: Thomas Sully
England, Horncastle, active United States, 1783-1872
Title: Portrait of the Misses Mary and Emily McEuen
Date Made: 1823
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Canvas: 44 1/4 × 34 1/4 in. (112.4 × 87 cm) Frame: 55 × 45 × 5 1/2 in. (139.7 × 114.3 × 13.97 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz, Jr. in honor of the museum's 40th anniversary
Accession Number: M.2008.222
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: American Art
Curatorial Notes: In this double portrait, painted a year after their father’s death, two sisters glance at the viewer in a sentimental moment of familial love. With a portfolio of artwork in one sister’s hands and a floral arrangement reminiscent of a Dutch still-life painting on the table beside them, the young women appear cultured and engaged with the world around them. Thomas Sully, who spent most of his career in Philadelphia, was especially celebrated for his portraits.
Selected Bibliography: Kim, Woollin, Jinmyung Kim, and Songhyuk Yang, eds. Art Across America. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2013.
Miller, Angela, and Chris McAuliffe, eds. America: Painting a Nation. Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2013.

Related Unframed

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Classical Revivals in Europe and America

Artist or Maker: Thomas Sully
England, Horncastle, active United States, 1783-1872
Title: Portrait of the Misses Mary and Emily McEuen
Date Made: 1823
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Canvas: 44 1/4 × 34 1/4 in. (112.4 × 87 cm) Frame: 55 × 45 × 5 1/2 in. (139.7 × 114.3 × 13.97 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz, Jr. in honor of the museum's 40th anniversary
Accession Number: M.2008.222
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: American Art
Curatorial Notes: In this double portrait, painted a year after their father’s death, two sisters glance at the viewer in a sentimental moment of familial love. With a portfolio of artwork in one sister’s hands and a floral arrangement reminiscent of a Dutch still-life painting on the table beside them, the young women appear cultured and engaged with the world around them. Thomas Sully, who spent most of his career in Philadelphia, was especially celebrated for his portraits.
Selected Bibliography: Kim, Woollin, Jinmyung Kim, and Songhyuk Yang, eds. Art Across America. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2013.
Miller, Angela, and Chris McAuliffe, eds. America: Painting a Nation. Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2013.