Bowdoin College Museum of Art | - Portrait of Elizabeth Anne Bates

Preview image of work. oil on canvas, Portrait of Elizabeth Anne Bates 5004

1962.2

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Portrait of Elizabeth Anne Bates

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Artist

Thomas Sully (Horncastle, England, 1783 - 1872, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Title

Portrait of Elizabeth Anne Bates

Creation Date

1837

Century

19th century

Dimensions

30 in. x 25 in. (76.2 cm. x 63.5 cm.)

Object Type

painting

Creation Place

Europe, United Kingdom

Medium and Support

oil on canvas

Credit Line

Gift of John H., Class of 1907, and Hannah Kellett Halford

Copyright

Public Domain

Accession Number

1962.2

In this portrait of Elizabeth Anne Bates (1820-1878), the London-born daughter of New England parents, artist Thomas Sully captures the young woman in thoughtful reflection. Her pose and the moon-lit landscape in the background epitomize the spirit of Romanticism, a movement in the arts and literature that flourished during the first half of the nineteenth century. Born in England, Sully emigrated with his family to the United States in 1792. Tutored by Gilbert Stuart in Boston and Benjamin West in England, he enjoyed wide patronage as a portraitist in America and England. Bates was the first portrait Sully painted in London following his return in 1837. He had come with a special commission to create a portrait of Queen Victoria who had recently ascended to the throne. In 1838 Bates married Sylvain van de Weyer, the Belgian ambassador in London.

Keywords: portraits