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The head and shoulders of a man with light skin and gray hair nearly fills this vertical portrait painting. Shown against a peanut-brown background, the man’s shoulders are angled to our left, and he looks off to our right with blue eyes. His gray hair curls around his forehead and over his ears. His bushy gray eyebrows gather over a furrowed brow, and sideburns grow down past his earlobes. His long, straight, slightly hooked nose and high cheekbones are set into his long, oval-shaped face. His pink lips are closed over a rounded chin, which is framed by vertical wrinkles. The white edge of a collar peeks above the high neck of a velvety black garment with wide lapels. The area beneath the man’s shoulders is a dark ivory color, perhaps indicating that this painting is unfinished.

Thomas Sully

Andrew Jackson, 1845

West Building, Ground Floor - Gallery 42A

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 51.8 x 43.8 cm (20 3/8 x 17 1/4 in.)

framed: 74.9 x 66.7 cm (29 1/2 x 26 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Andrew W. Mellon Collection

Accession Number

1942.8.34

Artists / Makers

Thomas Sully (artist) American, born England, 1783 - 1872

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Provenance

Francis Preston Blair [1791-1876], Silver Spring, Maryland; his son-in-law, Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee [1812-1897], Silver Spring, Maryland; his wife, Elizabeth Blair Lee [1818-1906], Silver Spring, Maryland; her son, Blair Lee [1857-1944], Silver Spring, Maryland; sold 1932 or 1933 to (M. Knoedler & Co., New York); sold 29 June 1934 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh;[1] gift 1942 to NGA.

[1] NGA records have two dates for this purchase. The 7 July 1934 date is given in the master list of objects deeded to and purchased by the Trust (original in NGA Secretary-General Counsel's office). A letter of 27 May 1960 from the Trust to William Campbell gives the purchase date as 29 June 1934. It could be that the earlier date is the date of the invoice, and the later date is the date of the check for payment.

Associated Names

Blair, Francis Preston
Knoedler & Company, M.
Lee, Blair
Lee, Elizabeth Blair
Lee, Samuel Phillips, Rear Admiral
Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, The A.W.

Exhibition History

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

1950: American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1950.

1950: Extended loan for use by Blair House, Washington, D.C., 1950.

1951: [Opening exhibition], Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama, 1951.

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.

1955: Famous Americans, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, Maryland, 1955, no cat.

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

1956: Mr. President; A Pictorial Parade of Presidents from Washington to Eisenhower 1789-1956, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Texas, 1956, no. 18 (for the State Fair of Texas).

1961: Tenth Anniversary Exhibition, Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama, 1961, no cat.

1963: French, American, and Italian Review, Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, 1963, no. 49.

1964: Extended loan for use by The White House, Washington, D.C., 1964-1969.

1969: Art in Miniature [International Philatelic Exhibition in conjunction with San Diego's 200th Anniversary], San Diego Community Concourse; Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego, 1969, no cat.

1970: Extended loan for use by Blair House, Washington, D.C., 1970-1971.

1971: Extended loan for use by the Johnson Library, University of Texas, Austin, 1971-1975.

1976: Extended loan for use by The White House, Washington, D.C., 1976-1990.

1990: Old Hickory: A Life Sketch of Andrew Jackson, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, 1990-1991, p. 116, repro.

1991: Extended loan for use by The White House, Washington, D.C., 1991-2001.

2004: Art and the Oval Office: Presidential Selections from the Nation's Museums, 1960-2000, The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, 2004-2005, no cat.

2006: Extended loan for use by Ambassador Al Hoffman, U.S. Embassy residence, Lisbon, Portugal, 2006-2009.

2013: Thomas Sully: Painted Performance, Milwaukee Art Museum; San Antonio Museum of Art, 2013-2014, no. 59, repro.

Bibliography

1909: Hart 1909, no. 855, 89.

1921: Biddle, Edward, and Mantle Fielding. The Life and Works of Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Philadelphia, 1921: no. 884, 187.

1970: American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 112, repro.

1980: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 242, repro.

1981: Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: 87-88, repro. 106.

1990: Barber, James G. Old Hickory, a Life Sketch of Andrew Jackson. Exh. cat. National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1990: 116.

1991: Barber, James G. Andrew Jackson: A Portrait Study. Seattle, 1991: 208-209.

1992: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 364, 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: 184-188, color repro.

2013: Anon. "Thomas Sully: Painted Performance (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)." American Art Review 25, no. 6 (November-December 2013): 94, color fig.