Mrs. Klapp (Anna Milnor)

1814

Thomas Sully
American, born England, 1783–1872

Over the course of his 70-year career, Thomas Sully painted more than two thousand portraits, including Dr. Joseph Klapp (1950.1363) and Mrs. Klapp (Anna Milnor). Sully’s portrayal of Philadelphian Anna Milnor Klapp features her Empire-style dress and stand-up collar with flourishing brushstrokes of silver, gray, and white. The fluted, monumental column in the background underscores the period taste for elegance and classical traditions. The companion portrait depicts Joseph Klapp in contemplation, emphasizing his study of medicine. Together, the portraits present an image of a sophisticated couple that celebrates their prosperity, intelligence, and taste.

Status: On View, Gallery 172
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Thomas Sully
Title: Mrs. Klapp (Anna Milnor)
Place: Philadelphia (Place depicted)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1814
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 92.1 × 71.5 cm (36 1/4 × 28 1/8 in.)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Annie Swan Coburn to the Mr. and Mrs. Lewis L. Coburn Memorial Collection
Reference Number: 1950.1362
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/72375/manifest.json

Charles Henry Hart, “Thomas Sully’s Register of Portraits, 1801–1871,” Part I, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 33 (1909), 65. no. 957.
–––––. A Register of Portraits Painted by Thomas Sully, 1801–1871 (Philadelphia, 1909), 98, no. 957.
Edward Biddle and Mantle Fielding, The Life and Works of Thomas Sully (1783–1872) (Philadelphia: Wickersham Press, 1921), 200, no. 992.
The Art Institute of Chicago Bulletin, 44 (November 15, 1950), 3, ill.
David A. Hanks, “American Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago,” Magazine Antiques (September 1973), 415, ill. p. 416.
John Maxon, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1970, 286, ill. p. 263.
Milo M. Naeve, Classical Presence in American Art (Art Institute of Chicago, 1978), 23, ill., no. 28.
–––––. “The Classical Presence in American Art,” The Magazine Antiques, September 1978, 502, ill.
Chicago Historical Society,” The Collections,” Chicago History, 8, 1 (Spring 1979), 34–36, 34, ill.

Art Institute of Chicago, Two Centuries of American Art, 1750-1950, Oct. 1, 1959–Jan. 10, 1960, no cat. [downloadable checklist available].
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Three Centuries of American Art, Apr. 11–Oct. 10, 1976, Darrel Sewell and Page Talbot, cat. no. 190, ill. p. 232.

Commissioned from the artist by Dr. Joseph Klapp (1783–1843), Philadelphia, PA, husband of the sitter, along with his own portrait (1950.1363), begun June 3, 1814, and delivered September 23, 1814 [Thomas Sully papers, 1792–1871, reel N18, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, copies in curatorial object file]; by descent to his son Dr. William Henry Klapp (1817–1855), 1843; by descent to his son Dr. William H. Klapp (1849 or 1850–1924), Philadelphia, PA; by descent to his nephew Langdon Williams (1861 or 1862–1949), Philadelphia, PA, and Brookline, MA, by 1924. Richard C. Morrison, Concord, MA, by 1950; sold to M. Knoedler and Co., New York, 1950; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1950.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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