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Rebecca Gratz, 1830
Thomas Sully (1783-1872)
Oil on canvas mounted on Masonite (TM) , 20 x 17 inches
Gift of Benjamin Shaw II, 1971
DAM 1971-167
Sully painted seven portraits of members of the Gratz family of Philadelphia, including three surviving paintings of Rebecca Gratz. Although Miss Gratz never married, her familial devotion extended to the raising of a sister’s six children after her death. Gratz was also an influential participant in various Philadelphia charitable organizations, helping to found the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society in 1819 and the Hebrew Sunday School Society in 1838. This portrait by Sully, with its unconventional and rather exotic head covering and pose, chosen by the sitter, was commissioned by Hyman Gratz, one of Miss Gratz’s brothers. |
