Thomas Ash II

This 1807 portrait of Thomas Ash II (1785 - after 1824) by Thomas Sully hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

"Thomas Ash 'succeeded to the long established and well known manufactory of Fancy and Windsor Chairs' at 33 John Street in New York City upon the death of his father, William, in 1815. The Ash proprietorship employed 'a number of the very best and most tasteful workmen' and advertised its ability to make custom orders, in addition to selling its inventory of Windsor chairs, fancy ballback armchairs, and rush-bottomed settees with vertical spindles. Indicative of his out-of-state market, Ash shipped seventy-one 'bundles' of chairs to Savannah, Georgia, in May 1815.

Ash also made frames for paintings, which may have provided the opportunity for this rare depiction of an early American artisan. It is one of the first works by the young Thomas Sully, who later became the preeminent American portrait painter of the Jacksonian era." -- National Portrait Gallery

 Profile magazine adds this comment.

"A rare depiction of an early American craftsman, this work was created shortly after the young Thomas Sully had traveled to Boston to study briefly with Gilbert Stuart, and when he was working as a studio assistant to John Trumbull." -- Profile Magazine Fall/Winter 2009, Page 10.