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Lot Essay
One of the more prolific and important itinerant portrait painters of early 19th century America, Ammi Phillips (1788-1865) portrayed Americans both a literal and immediate manner. Among the numerous portrait painters traveling and working at this time, Phillips is distinct for the variety and individuality of his various painting styles. Phillips' work was formerly attributed to at least five different artists. He was known by "Ammi Phillips," " Phillips," "A. Phillips," on the basis of signed and partially signed portraits. Phillips was also called separately the Kent Limner and Border Limners on the basis of the locations in which the majority of his sitters lived in those instances where the paintings remained in the sitters' families.
Working in the area defined by the borders of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as in a few specific communities, such as Amenia, New York, the identities by which Phillips' portrait were formerly known fall into recognizable stylistic formats loosely paralleling his travels. His earliest portraits were completed circa 1811, and are characterized by their pale, more muted palette. Phillips continued to paint until the end of his life, with his later portraits of the 1820s and 1830s distinguished for their dark, strong colors, often with dark backgrounds and boldly colored and detailed costumes. The pair of portraits of Judge Isaac Smith and his wife Phoebe Lewis Smith are painted in the characteristic format and mode of Phillips' 1820s portraits, with dark background and brightly pigmented shawl and facial features. The inclusion of a newspaper whose banner is just legible and refers to a publication specific to the time and place of his sitter, and is a characteristic feature of Phillips' work. The pendant portraits illustrated here also bear more standard features of American 19th century folk portraiture in the conversant nature of the scrolling sofa arms on which the subjects sit.
Married on 28 January 1794, Isaac Smith and Phoebe Lewis Smith lived near Amenia, New York, where Ammi Phillips worked periodically. Isaac and Phoebe Lewis Smith had seven children. In addition to the responsibilities of a growing family, Isaac Smith was a prominent citizen in Amenia. He served as a Judge, on the Commission to build the Dutchess County Turnpike, he was a head of the Federal Company of Amenia, and in 1816 was member of the New York State Assembly. The newspaper Smith holds in his hand, The Plough Boy, may be a reference to what Smith considered his most important accomplishment. Beyond the civic duties Smith fulfilled, he also ran a sizeable farm whose 6,000 sheep produced wool for the burgeoning textile industry of New York and its adjacent areas.
The Plough Boy, and Journal of the Board of Agriculture was published in Albany, New York from 1819 to 1822. The limited publication run of this paper provides not only important information in narrowing the date range in which this pair of portraits was painted, but it also shows Phillips' use of a strong, dark palette somewhat earlier than his work has previously been creditted.
Working in the area defined by the borders of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as in a few specific communities, such as Amenia, New York, the identities by which Phillips' portrait were formerly known fall into recognizable stylistic formats loosely paralleling his travels. His earliest portraits were completed circa 1811, and are characterized by their pale, more muted palette. Phillips continued to paint until the end of his life, with his later portraits of the 1820s and 1830s distinguished for their dark, strong colors, often with dark backgrounds and boldly colored and detailed costumes. The pair of portraits of Judge Isaac Smith and his wife Phoebe Lewis Smith are painted in the characteristic format and mode of Phillips' 1820s portraits, with dark background and brightly pigmented shawl and facial features. The inclusion of a newspaper whose banner is just legible and refers to a publication specific to the time and place of his sitter, and is a characteristic feature of Phillips' work. The pendant portraits illustrated here also bear more standard features of American 19th century folk portraiture in the conversant nature of the scrolling sofa arms on which the subjects sit.
Married on 28 January 1794, Isaac Smith and Phoebe Lewis Smith lived near Amenia, New York, where Ammi Phillips worked periodically. Isaac and Phoebe Lewis Smith had seven children. In addition to the responsibilities of a growing family, Isaac Smith was a prominent citizen in Amenia. He served as a Judge, on the Commission to build the Dutchess County Turnpike, he was a head of the Federal Company of Amenia, and in 1816 was member of the New York State Assembly. The newspaper Smith holds in his hand, The Plough Boy, may be a reference to what Smith considered his most important accomplishment. Beyond the civic duties Smith fulfilled, he also ran a sizeable farm whose 6,000 sheep produced wool for the burgeoning textile industry of New York and its adjacent areas.
The Plough Boy, and Journal of the Board of Agriculture was published in Albany, New York from 1819 to 1822. The limited publication run of this paper provides not only important information in narrowing the date range in which this pair of portraits was painted, but it also shows Phillips' use of a strong, dark palette somewhat earlier than his work has previously been creditted.