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Lot Essay
In 1928, Wallace Nutting reported this adjustable palette stand as having been used by the artist Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Mrs. Blair's notes mention the stand as having passed through the artist's grandson, Francis T. Sully Darley, to Dr. S.W. Woodhouse, from whom it was later acquired by the Sanderson Collection.
Sully, whose life and work represented both American and European influence, is most noted for his painting depicting the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837. Originally born in England, Sully was brought to America at a young age and soon began his studies in painting. In 1809, he returned abroad for more formal training in the London-based studio of Benjamin West. Back in Philadelphia by 1811, Sully's portraits of society's elite were lauded for their resemblance to those of English portraitists Gainsborough, Reynolds and Lawrence, leading many to deem Sully the "Sir Thomas Lawrence of America" (Edward Biddle and Mantle Fielding, The Life and Works of Thomas Sully (Philadelphia, 1921), p.16).
This tripod stand, with a central elongated screw for the adjustment of the palette tray, displays legs surmounted by carved eagles' heads and intricately carved foliate details on the feet. In his will of 1865-1866, Thomas Sully bequested several art-related objects to family and friends, including a mahogany easel, a piece that may have at some point accompanied this palette stand. Darley, who was instrumental in publishing his grandfather's book, Hints to Young Painters (Philadelphia, 1873), is likely to have desired this stand for his personal collection of Sully family treasures.
Sully, whose life and work represented both American and European influence, is most noted for his painting depicting the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837. Originally born in England, Sully was brought to America at a young age and soon began his studies in painting. In 1809, he returned abroad for more formal training in the London-based studio of Benjamin West. Back in Philadelphia by 1811, Sully's portraits of society's elite were lauded for their resemblance to those of English portraitists Gainsborough, Reynolds and Lawrence, leading many to deem Sully the "Sir Thomas Lawrence of America" (Edward Biddle and Mantle Fielding, The Life and Works of Thomas Sully (Philadelphia, 1921), p.16).
This tripod stand, with a central elongated screw for the adjustment of the palette tray, displays legs surmounted by carved eagles' heads and intricately carved foliate details on the feet. In his will of 1865-1866, Thomas Sully bequested several art-related objects to family and friends, including a mahogany easel, a piece that may have at some point accompanied this palette stand. Darley, who was instrumental in publishing his grandfather's book, Hints to Young Painters (Philadelphia, 1873), is likely to have desired this stand for his personal collection of Sully family treasures.