Mrs. John Biddle (Eliza Falconer Bradish)

Thomas Sully

1818 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

Eliza Falconer Bradish (1795–1865) was born to Margaretta and James Bradish of New York. She married Major John Biddle (see 24.115.1) in 1819. They had one daughter and four sons. A register kept by Sully records that this portrait was painted in 1821. The sitter is shown in a stylishly informal pose set off by the elegance of her velvet dress and fur boa. Although the portrait corresponds in size with that of Mr. Biddle, its color scheme and composition are not complimentary, making it unlikely that the work was intended as a pendant for Sully's 1818 portrait of her husband.

Artist

Thomas Sully

Date

1818

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of General John Biddle, 1924