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Mrs. Katherine Matthews

Thomas Sully American
1812–13
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774
According to the artist’s personal registers, this portrait was painted between December 1, 1812 and January 31, 1813, and cost the sitter seventy dollars. It reveals the influence of Sully's English trip of 1809–10, during which time he studied with Benjamin West and found his stylistic model in the work of the English portraitist Sir Thomas Lawrence. In fact, this painting is a half-length adaptation of Lawrence's "Elizabeth Farren, Countess of Derby" (also in the Museum's collection). The sitter’s dynamic gesture, turn of the head, and fashionable fur wrap—as well as Sully’s bravura brushwork—are all borrowed from Lawrence. However, the American de-emphasizes the sensuality of the original work, stressing instead an air of charm and social standing suitable for a Philadelphia lady.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mrs. Katherine Matthews
  • Artist: Thomas Sully (American, Horncastle, Lincolnshire 1783–1872 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  • Date: 1812–13
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 27 1/2 x 23 in. (69.9 x 58.4 cm)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1906
  • Object Number: 06.178
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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Hints to Young Painters, and the Process of Portrait-Painting as Practiced by the Late Thomas Sully.
Thomas Sully
J. M. Stoddard & Company
1873
Portrait of a Lady, Thomas Sully American, Watercolor on ivory, American
Portrait of a Lady
Thomas Sully
ca. 1843
Mrs. Thomas Sully (Sarah Annis), Thomas Sully American, Watercolor on ivory, American
Mrs. Thomas Sully (Sarah Annis)
Thomas Sully
ca. 1802
Standing Draped Female Figure; Portrait of a Cleric; Half-length Portrait of a Man; Figures with Wagons and Horses (Napoleon Scene?) (from Sketchbook), Thomas Sully American, Ink, wash, on paper, American
Standing Draped Female Figure; Portrait of a Cleric; Half-length Portrait of a Man; Figures with Wagons and Horses (Napoleon Scene?) (from Sketchbook)
Thomas Sully
1810–20
Composition with Five Figures in Natural Setting, Two Male, Three Female, with a Lyre (Ponnassus?) (from Sketchbook), Thomas Sully American, Ink, wash, on paper, American
Composition with Five Figures in Natural Setting, Two Male, Three Female, with a Lyre (Ponnassus?) (from Sketchbook)
Thomas Sully
1810–20

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