Sarah Sully and Her Dog, Ponto

A deeply moving testament to one of the great love stories in American art, this painting immortalizes Sarah Annis, wife of the painter Thomas Sully. After the death of his brother Lawrence, the artist cared for his widowed sister-in-law and young family. Soon, the couple fell in love. Here, in a work made for their daughter Blanche, Sully tenderly depicts Sarah after three decades together. Seated half-indoors, half-outdoors, in a rocking chair, Sarah muses upon her past, while crumbling a biscuit to feed the family dog, Ponto—originally the pet of their son Alfred, now a soldier in the West. The curving line of Sarah’s body, continuing into the form of the patient dog, was one of Sully’s characteristic devices to suggest motion and activity.

Born into a theatrical family, Sully painted over 2300 works in seven decades. Acclaimed for his portraits, he also created scenes based on theatre and literature.