# John Sergeant

**Thomas Sully** (American, 1783–1872)  
1811  
Oil on canvas  
82.5cm x 66cm (32 1/2" x 26"), Accurate

Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, NPG.84.179. [The museum's record](https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.84.179).

## About this work

Thomas Sully painted this in 1811, aged 28. It is now at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

Artist: Thomas Sully, Sitter: John Sergeant, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

_Description from the National Portrait Gallery._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Thomas Sully](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/thomas-sully)

American, 1783–1872; born in Horncastle, Lincolnshire; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Sully was taken from England to America as a child by his actor parents and settled in Philadelphia in 1808. After brief study with Gilbert Stuart, he went to London, where he worked under Benjamin West and came under the influence of Thomas Lawrence. He became Philadelphia’s leading portraitist, known for graceful, flattering likenesses in a fluid manner. In 1838 he returned to London to paint the young Queen Victoria, the year after her accession.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- The artist was 28
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: Legislators, Congressmen, Vice-Presidential Candidate, Government, Letters, Papers, Portraits, Home Furnishings
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1851.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1851/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/john-sergeant-si-npg-npg-84-179).