The unprecedented selection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, textiles, and furniture featured in this exhibition offers unexpected beauty, power, whimsy,…
Thomas Sully: Become Inspired
Using The Woodgatherer by Jules Bastien-Lepage, challenge students to create their own descriptive poem inspired by the painting. Have students:…
Thomas Sully: Practice Looking
Visit the Collections page on the Museum’s website for high-resolution images. Select 2–3 portraits and use discussion questions similar to…
Thomas Sully: Background Information
American painter Thomas Sully (1783–1872) had a lifelong love affair with the theatre. Born into a family of actors, he…
Thomas Sully: Thirty-Second Look
Have students look at the portrait for thirty seconds. Then have them turn away from the image. Conduct a conversation…
Thomas Sully: Strike a Pose
Have students pose like the sitter in the portrait. Ask students to consider what it feels like to pose like…
Thomas Sully: Character Reference
Traditional Portraits Some of Thomas Sully’s earliest recorded portraits are his now-lost images of members of the Park Theatre in…
Thomas Sully: Interviewer-Interviewee
Traditional Portraits Some of Thomas Sully’s earliest recorded portraits are his now-lost images of members of the Park Theatre in…
Thomas Sully: Plot It
Theatrical Portraits The majority of Sully’s portrait clients were merchants, ministers, bankers, doctors, military figures, and naturally, socialites—with a few…
Thomas Sully: Jumping into a Portrait
The Fancy or Subject Portraits Thomas Sully kept meticulously detailed records that provide an in-depth understanding of the life of…
Thomas Sully: Getting to Know You
The Fancy or Subject Portraits Thomas Sully kept meticulously detailed records that provide an in-depth understanding of the life of…
Thomas Sully: Compare and Contrast
Make connections to contemporary works within the Museum’s Collection. Visit Gallery 20, where you will find works identified as New…