Queen Victoria1838
The young Queen Victoria looks back over her shoulder with a fresh, girlish face, painted from life by the American artist Thomas Sully in London in 1838, the year of her coronation. More about this work
About this work
The young Queen Victoria looks back over her shoulder with a fresh, girlish face, painted from life by the American artist Thomas Sully in London in 1838, the year of her coronation. Sully had been commissioned by the Society of the Sons of St. George in Philadelphia to paint a full-length portrait of the new queen, and this bust-length study, made during her sittings, was his record of her features. Its spontaneity and charm made it widely admired and copied.
Written by Ochre Editions.
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
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.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 2021.140
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Painting
- Department
- The American Wing
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
