Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009216Portrait of Jean Terford David
by Thomas Sully
Also known as: Lieutenant Jean Terford David; Captain Jean T. David
About the Artwork
According to his own inventory, the astonishingly productive Thomas Sully painted more than 2,600 works during his career. Most of these paintings were commissioned portraits, including this one of John Terford David, who had just recently married. French-born David was an American officer who served as a paymaster during the War of 1812. His rank is indicated by the fringed epaulet on his left shoulder and the lack of one on his right. In composing the portrait, Sully ingeniously positioned David's body on an angle to emphasize the single epaulet and downplay the uniform's lack of symmetry.
Inscriptions
Signed lower right: "TS 1813 [TS in monogram]"
Provenance
Family of the sitter; John Foster Jenkins, Yonkers, NY; The Cleveland Museum of Art (1916)
Exhibition history
Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916). A Century and a Half of American Art. National Academy of Design Museum and School of Fine Arts, New York, NY (organizer) (October 15-November 30, 1975). Thomas Sully: Painted Performance. Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI (organizer) (October 11, 2013-January 5, 2014); San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX (February 7-May 11, 2014).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Thomas Sully (American, born England, 1783–1872)
- Date
- 1813
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 122 x 103 x 10 cm (48 1/16 x 40 9/16 x 3 15/16 in.); Unframed: 89.5 x 70.5 cm (35 1/4 x 27 3/4 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
- Accession no.
- 1916.1979.1
More by Thomas Sully in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009216
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