Artwork Details
- Title
- Mary Walsh McBlair
- Artist
- Copy after Thomas Sully
- Date
- ca. 1801-1872
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- image (oval): 1 1⁄2 x 1 1⁄8 in. (3.7 x 2.9 cm)
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- watercolor on ivory
- Keywords
- Portrait female — McBlair, Mary Walsh — head
- Object Number
- 1999.27.47
Artwork Description
Thomas Sully traveled to England to study under Benjamin West in 1809. Upon his return, he emerged as one of Philadelphia’s leading miniaturists, and by 1830 was regarded as one of the best portrait painters in the country. Compared with his earlier, realistic work, Mary Walsh McBlair is painted in the more sentimental and romantic style that he adopted during his stay in England.