Thomas Sully Autobiography and Sketches

Collection

Identifier: MS.062

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

Manuscript autobiography written in Thomas Sully's hand in a notebook with lined paper, titled “Incidents in the life of Thomas Sully; chiefly of painting.” Sully wrote the account when he was 88 years old, describing his technique, imparting formulas, relating his experiences, and referring to British and American artists of the period such as Gilbert Stuart, Rembrandt Peale, John Singleton Copley, and Benjamin West.

Pages are numbered 1-109, 200-207. Mounted on the front flyleaf is the dealer's typed description of the item. Small instructional sketches appear on several pages and a colored watercolor, showing the three primary colors, appears on page 57. Two original ink sketches for Sully’s portraits of John Quincy Adams, 1823, and General Lafayette, 1826, accompany the notebook.

Dates

Creation: 1871

Creator

Sully, Thomas, 1783-1872 (Person)

Access Restrictions

These records are open for research by appointment under the conditions of The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives Access Policy. For all inquiries or to schedule an appointment, please contact the Archives Department at archives@frick.org.

Biographical Note

Thomas Sully (1783-1872) was an American (English-born) painter of portraits. Sully emigrated from England to South Carolina with his family when he was young. At the age of 18, Sully became a professional painter, and completed over 2,600 paintings during his career. He settled in Philadelphia in 1806, where he resided for the remainder of his life. Sully painted portraits of many notable figures, including John Quincy Adams, the Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson, and Queen Victoria.