(From Sketchbook) 1810 - 1820

Thomas Sully made this sketch in ink on paper, likely in the first half of the 19th century. It captures women in poses of leisure and elegance, reflecting the values of the upper classes in America at the time. Sully was a successful portrait painter. He relied on the patronage of wealthy families who sought to display their status through art. The classical column beside the standing woman signals that the sitter would have been versed in the art and literature of antiquity. Art like this served to reinforce a social hierarchy, reflecting a world in which wealthy white families had the privilege of leisure while others did not. It's important to remember that art and its institutions - like the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts where Sully taught - helped shape cultural values. Examining original letters, diaries, and financial records can help us reconstruct the world in which this sketch was produced and consumed.