Thomas Alston

1826

Thomas Sully

Associated Names
Thomas Sully

Artist, American, born England, 1783 - 1872

The image shows a portrait of a person from the waist up. The subject has their head resting on their right hand, propped up on their elbow. Their face is turned slightly towards the viewer, showcasing distinct facial features including dark, well-groomed hair, expressive eyebrows, and focused eyes. The person is wearing a dark jacket over a high-collared white shirt, fastened with visible buttons. In front of them is a stack of books or papers. The background is a warm, earth-toned color. No jewelry or other objects are visible.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 76.7 x 63.7 cm (30 3/16 x 25 1/16 in.)
    framed: 105.4 x 92.1 x 8.3 cm (41 1/2 x 36 1/4 x 3 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1947.17.108

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Commissioned 1825 by the sitter's father, Colonel John Ashe Alston [1783-1831]. Sarah McPherson Alston Middleton [Mrs. John Izard Middleton, 1807-1878], Middleton, South Carolina, sister of the sitter; her son, John Izard Middleton [b. 1834], Baltimore, Maryland; his nephew, John Izard Middleton [b. 1867], New York; purchased 24 October 1922 by Thomas B. Clarke [1848-1931], New York; his estate; sold as part of the Clarke collection 29 January 1936, through (M. Knoedler & Co., New York), to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1947 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1923

  • Exhibition of Portraits by Early American Portrait Painters, The Union League Club, New York, 1923, no. 11.

1928

  • Portraits by Early American Artists of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Collected by Thomas B. Clarke, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1928-1931, unnumbered and unpaginated catalogue.

1972

  • Extended loan for use in Chief Justice Rehnquist's chambers, 1986-2002.

1973

  • Thomas Sully 1783-1872, Bedford Gallery, Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia, 1973, no. 11.

1986

  • Extended loan for use by The Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1986-

Bibliography

1909

  • Hart 1909, no. 29, 20.

1921

  • Biddle, Edward, and Mantle Fielding. The Life and Works of Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Philadelphia, 1921: no. 32, 86.

1928

  • Portraits by Early American Artists of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Collected by Thomas B. Clarke. Exh. cat. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1928, unnumbered.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 110, repro.

1973

  • Flynn, Elizabeth L. Thomas Sully, 1783-1872. Exh. cat. Bedford College, Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia, 1973.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 240, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 362, repro.

1998

  • Torchia, Robert Wilson, with Deborah Chotner and Ellen G. Miles. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part II. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1998: 169-173, color repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: TS (in monogram) 1826.

Wikidata ID

Q20185516

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