Thomas Sully Prints, Posters & Canvas Art

Biography

American painter of English birth. Sully went to America in 1792 with his family, who were theatre and circus performers. He made at least one appearance on stage as an acrobat in 1794 and was then apprenticed with an insurance broker, after which he was placed with his brother-in-law, Jean Belzons, a miniature painter. After an argument with Belzons, Sully fled and in September 1799 joined his older brother Lawrence (1769-1804), also a miniature painter, in Richmond, VA. In 1801 the Sully family moved to Norfolk, VA, where Thomas painted his first miniature, a likeness of his brother Chester. In January 1803 Lawrence and his family returned to Richmond. Thomas remained in Norfolk for another six months but in July 1803 returned to Richmond, where he opened his own studio.