By his 23rd birthday, he was accepted to the National Academy of Design in New York City where he trained for a half year in the art of drawing, and then went on to Philadelphia in the Spring of 1832 for another six months.

After a year of formal training, Thomas returned to Newburyport to open his own studio, where he remained as a portrait painter for the next decade.

In 1842, Thomas Lawson relocated his family to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he quickly became one of the prominent portrait painters.

Secretary Webster sat a dozen times for Thomas to complete the work, but it was well worth the effort.

His oldest daughter, Frances Ellen Lawson first married Nicholas Biddle Uhler of Philadelphia, and later Frank Skinner of Woodbury, New Jersey.