Lot Essay
Dr. John Whitfield Couch, was born on September 8, 1797 to John D. Couch (1760-1824) and Rhoda (Bennett) Couch (1763-1836). John studied at Williams College and practiced medicine afterwards. He married his late wife's sister Mary Christopher Van Doorn on May 28, 1829 in Hartford, Connecticut. Mary was born on April 23, 1805 to Moses Van Doorn (1758-1825) and Sarah Swan (Wardwell) Van Doorn (1769-1811). John and Mary had at least one child together, Charles Frederick Couch (1841-1887). Mary was widowed when John died in 1845 at the age of 47. She lived until 1876 and died at the age of 71.
A prolific portraitist who worked in the border areas of New York and Connecticut, Ammi Phillips rendered likenesses in a number of distinct styles over the course of his long itinerant career. The boldness and sharp realism of the portraits offered here exemplifies the traits seen in the artist’s work from the 1830s, often known as the “Kent period,” as for part of this time, he painted sitters from Kent, Connecticut. Phillips’ celebrated portraits of children in red are also masterpieces of Phillips’ Kent period and like the portraits offered here, similarly feature close-up compositions, horizontal emphasis, and large planes of color (see, for example, Christie’s, New York, 18 January 2019, lot 1205).
A prolific portraitist who worked in the border areas of New York and Connecticut, Ammi Phillips rendered likenesses in a number of distinct styles over the course of his long itinerant career. The boldness and sharp realism of the portraits offered here exemplifies the traits seen in the artist’s work from the 1830s, often known as the “Kent period,” as for part of this time, he painted sitters from Kent, Connecticut. Phillips’ celebrated portraits of children in red are also masterpieces of Phillips’ Kent period and like the portraits offered here, similarly feature close-up compositions, horizontal emphasis, and large planes of color (see, for example, Christie’s, New York, 18 January 2019, lot 1205).