AMMI PHILLIPS (1788-1865) AND A 19TH CENTURY CONTEMPORARY
AMMI PHILLIPS (1788-1865) AND A 19TH CENTURY CONTEMPORARY
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AMMI PHILLIPS (1788-1865) AND A 19TH CENTURY CONTEMPORARY

MRS. ELIZABETH (YOUNGLOVE) COWAN

Details
AMMI PHILLIPS (1788-1865) AND A 19TH CENTURY CONTEMPORARY
MRS. ELIZABETH (YOUNGLOVE) COWAN
oil on canvas
33 x 27 in.
Painted circa 1815.

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Lot Essay

Set against an austere mauve gray background, this striking portrait is painted in the characteristic format and mode of the works made by Ammi Phillips (1788-1865) in 1812-1819. An important 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. As seen in this painting, Phillips portraited his sitters in a literal and immediate manner that is unique, modern and captivating. The simple background allows the sitter's gaze to become the work’s focus and captivates the viewer. The muted palette and style seen here are reflective of Phillips’ early Border Limner period.

Mrs. Cowan is depicted seated in a fancy painted side chair with one arm resting on a table: a reoccurring pose used by Phillips. Although the included elements are reflective of Phillips, the present portrait presents an interesting inquiry. A close study of Mrs. Cowan’s face, with its soft edges and general roundness, confirms it to be painted by Phillips. While it can be concluded in confidence that her face is by Phillips, the rest of what is currently visible is likely by a different hand of the same period. Mrs. Cowan’s black dress which is accessorized with an intricate lace collar was of fashion and seen in Phillips' portraits from the 1840s. One theory is that the sitter had her portrait reworked after the death of her husband in 1833 and certain elements were painted over by a different artist. This would explain her black dress, which serves as a reflection of her grief and widowhood. Another possibility might be that Phillips painted Mrs. Cowan’s face and left the rest of the composition unfinished, leaving it to be completed by another hand. Another unique feature of this work is the woman’s lace handkerchief. Phillips often included a lace handkerchief as a ‘prop’ in his paintings of women, but rarely does the delicate piece of fabric cover the sitter’s hand. Here, whether Phillips or a contemporary, the artist has obscured the the sitter's right hand, highlighting his painterly skills in his ability to convey the translucency of lace.

According to tradition, the sitter is Mrs. Elizabeth (Younglove) Cowan (1782-1851), wife of Moses Cowan (1773-1833). A portrait of Moses by Phillips is illustrated in David R. Allaway, My People: The Works of Ammi Phillips (2022), vol. I, p. 61, no. 111, vol. II, p. 18, no. 18. Similarly to Elizabeth, Moses is seated on a black-painted and gilt-decorated side chair, and set against a mauve background. These similarities firmly identify the present sitter as the wife and pendant to Moses. Elizabeth was born in 1782 to John and Martha Younglove of Cambridge in Washington County, New York. Moses and Elizabeth married in 1800 and lived in Greenwich, New York until their deaths in 1833 and 1851 respectively.

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