There are many beautiful portraits that belong to the Liberty Hall Historic Site collection. Many of them feature the past residents of Liberty Hall and the Orland Brown house. There is one portrait that stands out among the collection as it is the only original portrait painted by a female artist. The painting is of eleven year old Benjamin Gratz Brown by Jane Cooper Sully Darley. In celebration of Women’s History Month, it seems fitting that she be featured.
Jane Cooper Sully Darley was the daughter of Thomas Sully, a well known portrait artist from Philadelphia. She was the oldest daughter of her parents with two younger sisters and three older half siblings. It has been said that each of the children were gifted when it came to their art abilities, but Jane stood out the most. She learned the art of portraiture by copying her father’s style and technique. As Jane developed her artistic skills, she would often start a portrait and then her father would add the finishing details or retouch different aspects of the artwork. Eventually she would create her own style and paint entirely on her own.
At the age of 24 Jane became an Academician at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The Academicians were a group of artists that were in charge of the academy’s school life and assisting in exhibitions. Each new member was evaluated and chosen by the existing board of Academicians. Other known members were John Trumball, John Singleton Copely, John Wesley Jarvis, the Peale children, Gilbert Stuart, John Vanderlyn, Benjamin West and others. It is notable that Jane Darley was only one of three women to have ever been part of this organization. As an Academician she would have been part of a group of roughly 40 artists, sculptors, architects and engravers. They were responsible for choosing the curators and professors of the Academy. Each member was also required to submit one of their own personal works to the Academy’s collection. The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts owns a handful of Jane’s artworks today.
Jane was majorly known for her portraits of children. She was celebrated for her ability to create a state of innocence on each child’s face through her light brushstrokes and soft details. It was this talent that likely caused Mason Brown to have a portrait of his then 11 year old son, Benjamin Gratz Brown commissioned. In 1838 Mason was required to go to Philadelphia to settle the estates of his recently deceased uncle, James Brown and father, John Brown. The trip was likely taken in the later portion of the year after his mother, Margaretta had passed. In their time of grieving Mason brought along his new wife Mary Yoder and his son Gratz. While they were in Philadelphia they visited Rebecca Gratz, who was a familial relation of Mason’s deceased wife, Judith Bledsoe. It was Rebecca Gratz who likely introduced Jane Darely to Mason as Rebecca Gratz was a patron of Jane’s. She captured the youthfulness and innocence of Gratz in her portrait. Mason wrote to Rebecca on January 10, 1839 expressing his excitement to see the portrait when the snows of winter had melted. He also requested that a message of thanks and a payment be sent along to Mrs Darley.
As far as the rest of Jane Darley’s life or career there is little known about her. As is common with many female artists of the time, her story has been lost or hardly documented. There is a hope that more will be discovered about her so that Jane and her works of art can be given greater light.