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Dr. Joseph Klapp
Thomas Sully (American, born England, 1783–1872)
1814
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 91.4 × 71.1 cm (36 × 28 in.)
- Culture
- Philadelphia
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Purchased with funds provided by Annie Swan Coburn to the Mr. and Mrs. Lewis L. Coburn Memorial Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Over the course of his 70-year career, Thomas Sully painted more than two thousand portraits, including Dr. Joseph Klapp and Mrs. Klapp (Anna Milnor) (1950.1362). Joseph Klapp was born and raised in Albany, New York, but studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and settled in Philadelphia. In the portrait, Klapp rests his elbow on a medical text, indicating his profession. The books lining the background of the painting also speak to the sitter’s intellectual prowess. The image of Mrs. Klapp, painted in a harmoniously limited color scheme, emphasizes her beauty. Together, the portraits present an image of a sophisticated couple that celebrates their prosperity, intelligence, and taste.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
