The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Portraits of Jean Terford David and Mary Sicard David

Portraits of Jean Terford David and Mary Sicard David

1813
(American, 1783–1872)
America, 19th century
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.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1916.1979
Location: 205 Federal American

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.
  • Family of the sitter; John Foster Jenkins, Yonkers, NY; The Cleveland Museum of Art (1916)
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925. Reproduced: p. 9 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928. Reproduced: p. 9 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 534 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 161 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 161 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 200 archive.org
  • 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.
    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)
    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.
    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)
    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.
    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.
    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.
    The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).
    Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 20th Anniversary Exhibition (26 June-4 October, 1936), p. 29, nos. 48 & 49.
    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, Catalogue of the Inaugural Exhibition (6 June-20 September, 1916), no. 156.
  • {{cite web|title=Portraits of Jean Terford David and Mary Sicard David|url=false|author=Thomas Sully|year=1813|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1979