Mother and Child by Thomas Sully or School of Thomas Sully. Sully (American, 1783-1872) was a British-born painter who had a long and distinguished career in the new United States painting portraits of distinguished American figures. His paintings of John Quincy Adams, America’s sixth president, and the Marquis de Lafayette appear to have brought him to the forefront of his day. His Adams portrait is in the National Gallery of Art.