id: 96262 accession number: 1916.1979 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1979 updated: 2020-05-04 09:00:23.443000 Portraits of Jean Terford David and Mary Sicard David, 1813. Thomas Sully (American, 1783-1872). Oil on canvas; framed: 122 x 103 x 10 cm (48 1/16 x 40 9/16 x 3 15/16 in.); unframed: 89.5 x 70.5 cm (35 1/4 x 27 3/4 in.); part 2: 121.9 x 103.5 x 15.3 cm (48 x 40 3/4 x 6 in.); part 3: 89.5 x 69.8 cm (35 1/4 x 27 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1916.1979 title: Portraits of Jean Terford David and Mary Sicard David title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1813 creation date earliest: 1813 creation date latest: 1813 current location: 205 Federal American creditline: Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust copyright: --- culture: America, 19th century technique: oil on canvas department: American Painting and Sculpture collection: American - Painting type: Painting find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Thomas Sully (American, 1783-1872) - artist --- measurements: Framed: 122 x 103 x 10 cm (48 1/16 x 40 9/16 x 3 15/16 in.); Unframed: 89.5 x 70.5 cm (35 1/4 x 27 3/4 in.); Part 2: 121.9 x 103.5 x 15.3 cm (48 x 40 3/4 x 6 in.); Part 3: 89.5 x 69.8 cm (35 1/4 x 27 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: .1 - Signed lower right: "TS 1813 [TS in monogram]" .2 - Signed right: "TS 1813 [TS in monogram]" translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition opening date: 1936-06-26T04:00:00 The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 12, 1936). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Catalogue of the Inaugural Exhibition (6 June-20 September, 1916), no. 156.
Philadelphia, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Catalogue of the Memorial Exhibition of Portraits by Thomas Sully (1922), pp. 5-7, cat. nos. 71 & 72, illus. p. 49 & 50.
Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 20th Anniversary Exhibition (26 June-4 October, 1936), p. 29, nos. 48 & 49.
Detroit, The Detroit Institute of Arts, The World of the Romantic Artist: A Survey of American Culture from 1800 to 1875 (28 December, 1944-28 January, 1945), nos. 5 & 6, ill. p. 8; cat. p. 8-10.
Saginaw, Michigan, The Saginaw Museum, An Exhibition of American Paintings from Colonial Times until Today (10 January-15 February, 1948), p. 22, illus. nos. 56 & 57, plate III.
Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, From Colony to Nation: An Exhibition of American Painting Silver and Architecture from 1650 to the War of 1812 (21 April-19 June, 1949), p. 73, cat. nos. 117 & 118.
New York, The National Academy of Design, A Century and a Half of American Art (10 October-16 November, 1975), p. 118, illus. p. 117. (.1 only)
Washington D.C., The National Portrait Gallery, Mr. Sully, Portrait Painter (3 June-5 September, 1983), p. 59, cat. nos. 18 & 19, illus. p. 58-59.
Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Federal Philadelphia 1783-1825: The Athens of the Western World (5 July - 20 September 1987), cat. no. 224. (.2 only)
Milwaukee Art Museum, WI (10/11/2013 - 1/5/2014) and San Antonio Museum of Art, TX (2/7/20114 - 5/11/2014): "Thomas Sully: Painted Performance", cat. nos. 9 & 10, p. 104-105. --- PROVENANCE Family of the sitter; John Foster Jenkins, Yonkers, NY; The Cleveland Museum of Art (1916) date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: According to his own inventory, the astonishingly productive Sully painted more than 2,600 works during his career. Most of these paintings were commissioned portraits, including this one of John Terford David, who had just recently married. French-born David was an American officer who served as a paymaster during the War of 1812. His rank is indicated by the fringed epaulet on his left shoulder and the lack of one on his right. In composing the portrait, Sully ingeniously positioned David's body on an angle to emphasize the single epaulet and downplay the uniform's lack of symmetry.

Leaving England for America at the age of nine but returning in his mid-twenties to study with Benjamin West, Sully finally settled in Philadelphia in 1810. There he became the city's leading painter, known for dashing brushwork and elegant figures. Lieutenant Jean Terford David (1792–1838) commissioned these portraits of himself and his wife Mary Sicard David (1792–1864) soon after his appointment as regimental paymaster in the US Army. Sully created visual drama by portraying David from below against a cloud-filled sky. Mrs. David, however, is seen from straight on and presents a sweet and benign figure. The frame is original. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925. page number: Reproduced: p. 9 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook_80839/page/n11 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928. page number: Reproduced: p. 9 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1928/page/n13 The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 534 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n98 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. page number: Reproduced: p. 161 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n185 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. page number: Reproduced: p. 161 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n185 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 200 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n220 --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1979/1916.1979_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1979/1916.1979_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1979/1916.1979_full.tif