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Catalog Data

Artist:
Thomas Sully, 19 Jun 1783 - 5 Nov 1872  Search this
Sitter:
Benjamin Rush, 4 Jan 1746 - 19 April 1813  Search this
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
Frame: 129.5 × 109.2 × 10.2 cm (51 × 43 × 4")
Type:
Painting
Date:
1812
Exhibition Label:
Born Byberry Township, Pennsylvania
Benjamin Rush was a prominent physician, a social reformer, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. After studying medicine abroad at the University of Edinburgh, he returned to Philadelphia to work. He advocated bloodletting and purges for many diseases but also moved the profession toward more manageable diagnoses and treatment regimens.
Rush’s accomplishments were many. He was a pioneer in the study of mental illness; he organized the Pennsylvania antislavery society; he agitated for prison reform and the education of women; and he wrote the first American chemistry text.
Thomas Sully depicted Rush as a thoughtful man of letters. One of Rush’s colleagues, who commis- sioned a version of this portrait, described how Sully “appreciate[d] the mind which animates the face of my friend . . . I have no doubt that you will be enabled to furnish me with a portrait which will be gratifying to me.”
Topic:
Printed Material\Book  Search this
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair\Armchair  Search this
Home Furnishings\Drape  Search this
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table\Writing table  Search this
Equipment\Drafting & Writing Implements\Writing implement\Pen\Quill  Search this
Costume\Dress Accessory\Spectacles  Search this
Benjamin Rush: Male  Search this
Benjamin Rush: Politics and Government\Congressman\Continental congressman  Search this
Benjamin Rush: Politics and Government\Statesman\Colonial statesman\Signer of Declaration  Search this
Benjamin Rush: Medicine and Health\Physician  Search this
Benjamin Rush: Society and Social Change\Reformer  Search this
Benjamin Rush: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\College  Search this
Benjamin Rush: Literature\Writer\Medical writer  Search this
Benjamin Rush: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Humanitarian  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
Owner: R. Stockton Rush III
Object number:
EXH.3908
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Catalog of American Portraits
Data Source:
Catalog of American Portraits
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4de3f3f07-ba7b-4fd1-ade9-18022b1d2d33
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_EXH.3908