Ammi Phillips Circa 1830 Portrait of a Lady Oil on Canvas
Item Details
Ammi Phillips (American; 1788 – 1865)
Portrait of a Lady, Circa 1830
Oil on canvas
Unsigned
A folk oil painting on canvas of a portrait of a lady by celebrated American artist Ammi Phillips (1788 – 1865), created circa 1830. Exhibiting one of the artist’s trademark subjects, this half-length portrait features a three-quarter view of a seated older woman holding a Bible in her hand. Unsigned, the work is presented in a gold-tone gesso and wood frame. A label from Lyman Allyn Museum Conservation Laboratory is adhered to the verso.
Provenance
Private Collection, Rhode Island.
Ammi Phillips is one of the most recognized American itinerant portraitists of the nineteenth century in part because he utilized such distinctive formulas in painting clothing and backgrounds (see Mary Black, ‘Ammi Phillips: The Country Painter’s Method,’ The Clarion (Winter 1986), pp. 32-37). This allowed him to work quickly while still creating detailed images, and it enables attribution of unsigned works through analysis of these repeating elements. The lace collar and bodice in this portrait are in keeping with those of Miss A. E. Allen (Sold Christie’s, New York, 23 Janurary 2015, lot 98), Mary Hoyt, c. 1836, and Hannah Mills Raymond, 1836, pictured in Barbara C. and Lawrence B. Holdridge, Ammi Phillips: Portrait Painter, 1788–1865 (New York, 1969), pp. 34 and 35. The bonnet resembles that of Elizabeth Payne Phillips, c. 1824, pictured p. 34 of the same book. Based on the noted comparable images, this painting sits comfortably amongst known works rendered by Phillips during his “Kent Period,” which spanned from 1829 to 1838. If the work was indeed created in the 1830s, it was most likely in New York State or Kent, Connecticut, based on the artist’s known commissions and whereabouts during that year.
Condition
- in painting scattered throughout, especially visible along edges of canvas; repaired puncture to lower center of canvas; painting has been relined with wax and canvas; craquelure throughout painting; wear in frame includes small chips, stains, scratches, and finish loss scattered throughout.
Dimensions
- measurement of frame; canvas size measures approximately 25" W x 33.75" H.
Item #
18DCC700-116
