Dr. Joseph Klapp

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 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.

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

Artist: Thomas Sully
Title: Dr. Joseph Klapp
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: 91.4 × 71.1 cm (36 × 28 in.)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Annie Swan Coburn to the Mr. and Mrs. Lewis L. Coburn Memorial Collection
Reference Number: 1950.1363
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/96621/manifest.json

Charles Henry Hart, “Thomas Sully’s Register of Portraits, 1801–1871,” Part I, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 33 (1909), p. 65. no. 956.
–––––. A Register of Portraits Painted by Thomas Sully, 1801–1871 (Philadelphia, 1909), p. 98, no. 956.
Edward Biddle and Mantle Fielding, The Life and Works of Thomas Sully (1783–1872) (Philadelphia: Wickersham Press, 1921), p. 200, no. 991.
Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, 1961), p. 443.
David A. Hanks, “American Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago,” Magazine Antiques (September 1973), p. 415.

New York, C.W. Lyon Galleries, Important Examples of American Old Masters, ill. as Portrait of Dr. Joseph Klapp of Philadelphia (New York,1950), n. pag., ill.
Art Institute of Chicago, Two Centuries of American Art, 1750-1950, Oct. 1, 1959–Jan. 10, 1960, no cat. [downloadable checklist available].

Commissioned from the artist by the sitter (1783–1843), Philadelphia, PA, along with a portrait of his wife, Mrs. Anna Klapp (born Milnor, 1783–1841) (1950.1362), begun June 1, 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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