Ann Biddle Hopkinson (Mrs. Francis Hopkinson)

1834

Thomas Sully

Associated Names
Thomas Sully

Artist, American, born England, 1783 - 1872

This painting depicts a woman from the shoulders up, her head turned to face us. She has light skin, large eyes, a long nose, and rosy cheeks. Her lips are red and set in a neutral expression. Her brown hair is styled in curls under a large black hat with white feathers. She wears a garment with a sheer collar, a jeweled brooch, and white fur around her shoulders. The background is a dark, muted gradient of brown tones, with some dark blue and dark red, fading to cream at the bottom of the painting.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 51 x 44.3 cm (20 1/16 x 17 7/16 in.)
    framed: 74.9 x 67.3 x 10.2 cm (29 1/2 x 26 1/2 x 4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1942.8.32


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The sitter's daughter, Emily Hopkinson Scovel [1839-1883]; her daughter, Florence Scovel Shinn [b. 1871], New York; purchased 11 April 1918 by Thomas B. Clarke [1848-1931], New York;[1] 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 1942 to NGA.
[1] Acquisition date recorded for the pendant painting by Sully, Francis Hopkinson (NGA 1942.8.33), and probably also the acquisition date for this painting. This information is according to a 1928 Clarke exhibition catalogue annotated with information from files of M. Knoedler & Co., NY (copy in NGA curatorial records and in NGA library).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1921

  • Exhibition of Paintings by Early American Portrait Painters, The Union League Club, New York, December 1921, no. 22.

1922

  • Memorial Exhibition of Portraits by Thomas Sully, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1922, no. 79.

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.

1943

  • American Paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1943.

1947

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1947.

1948

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1948.

1949

  • Exhibition of Early American Portraits on Loan from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Pack Memorial Public Library, Asheville, North Carolina, 1949, no. 10.

1950

  • The Face of American History, Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina, 1950, no. 17.

  • From Plymouth Rock to the Armory, The Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida, 1950, no. 18.

1951

  • American Portraits from the National Gallery of Art, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 1951, no. 21, repro. (organized by the Atlanta Art Association).

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1951.

1952

  • Opening Exhibition of The George Thomas Hunter Gallery of Art, Chattanooga Art Association, Tennessee, 1952, unnumbered.

  • [Opening exhibition of new art gallery], Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg, Virginia, 1952-1953, no cat.

  • [Opening exhibition], Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1952, no. cat.

1953

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1953.

1955

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1955.

1956

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1956.

1983

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador David Abshire, Residence of the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Brussels, Belgium, 1983-1987.

1987

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador Alton J. Keel, Jr., Residence of the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Brussels, Belgium, 1987-1989.

1989

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador William H. Taft IV, Residence of the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Brussels, Belgium, 1989-1992.

1992

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador Reginald Bartholomew, Residence of the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Brussels, Belgium, 1992-1993.

1993

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador Robert E. Hunter, Residence of the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Brussels, Belgium, 1993-1997.

1997

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador Alexander R. Vershbow, Residence of the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Brussels, Belgium, 1997-2001.

2001

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns, Residence of the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Brussels, Belgium, 2001-2005.

2005

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador Victoria Nuland, Residence of the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Brussels, Belgium, 2005-2008.

2008

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador Kurt Volker, Residence of the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Brussels, Belgium, 2008-2009.

2009

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador Ivo Daalder, Residence of the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Brussels, Belgium, 2009-2012.

Bibliography

1909

  • Hart 1909, no. 785, 82.

1921

  • Biddle, Edward, and Mantle Fielding. The Life and Works of Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Philadelphia, 1921: no. 810, 177.

1922

  • Catalogue of the Memorial Exhibition of Portraits by Thomas Sully. Exh. cat. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1922: no. 79, 55.

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.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 241, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 363, 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: 179, 181-182, color repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20185787

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