Robert Matthew Sully - Junius Brutus Booth - 1923

Robert Matthew Sully (17 July 1803,

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

- 28 October 1855,

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

)Biographical data
@ RootsWeb was an American portrait painter who worked mostly in Virginia. He is best remembered for his depictions of Native Americans. The famous English-born artist,

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was an English-American portrait painter. He was born in England, became a naturalized American citizen in 1809, and lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including in the Thomas Sull ...

, was his uncle.

Biography

He was one of six children born to Matthew Sully (1773-1812) and his wife, Elizabeth (1775-1851), who was from Scotland. He was sent to school in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, where he met and became lifelong friends with

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

. By the age of eighteen, he was determined to become a painter and went to Philadelphia to seek advice from his uncle, Thomas Sully. His uncle's advice was to study in London at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

. While there, he became acquainted with

Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 4 February Dual dating, 1747/8 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.

5 February 1748 Old Style and New Style dates, N.S. 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

– 6 June 1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of mo ...

and produced some sketches which are now at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. In 1828, he returned to the United States and settled in Richmond.Alumni Bulletin of the University of Virginia
@ Google Books. Four years later, he married Isabella Thompson (1815-1898) of

Culpeper, Virginia Culpeper (formerly Culpeper Courthouse, earlier Fairfax) is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat and part of the Washington–Baltimore–Arlington, DC–MD–VA–WV–PA Combined Statistical ...

. They had one son and two daughters. The marriage was apparently not a happy one as, by the mid 1840s, they were living apart. In the early 1850s, he painted a number of portraits, many of Native Americans, for the

State Historical Society of Wisconsin The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...

; a project commissioned by Lyman C. Draper. In 1855, he was elected an honorary member of that society and set out for Wisconsin to pay a visit, accept the honor and perhaps settle there. He died en route, in Buffalo. His baggage and most of his personal papers were lost at the time. Due to that and other unknown circumstances, a certain Frank Short was arrested and charged with his murder, but was released when it was determined that Sully's death was from natural causes. He painted two portraits of his friend Poe, but their whereabouts are currently unknown.

References

External links

Biographical notes
@ Find-a-Grave
Pocahontas as "Forest Girl"
from the ''Encyclopedia Virginia'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sully, Robert M. 1803 births 1855 deaths American portrait painters 19th-century American painters Painters from Virginia

Biography

References

Further reading

External links