Lot 303
  • 303

Ammi Phillips (1788-1865)

Estimate
175,000 - 225,000 USD
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Description

  • Ammi Phillips (1788-1865)
  • Portrait of a Rosy Cheeked Young Girl in a Pink Dress
  • oil on canvas

  • 31 in. by 25 in.
  • Painted circa 1832
A paper label attached to the stretcher states: Given to Blanche B. Pratt by Bruce Buttford in 1930. Primitive – called in family "Hannah Standish."

Literature

The Salisbury portrait is illustrated and discussed in Revisiting Ammi Phillips; Fifty Years of American Portraiture by Stacy Hollander, curator, Howard P. Fertig, research curator, New York, 1994, p. 41, PL XXXVIII. 

Condition

This portrait has been restored most likely within the last 30 years and while it could be hung in its current condition, there are elements to the restoration which are inappropriate and should be reconsidered. The lining of the canvas has been applied using wax as an adhesive. The canvas is lined onto a sheet of aluminum which is in turn backed by a fresh piece of canvas. This lining is easily reversible and wax is not an acid free or preferable adhesive, and sooner or later it will need to be attended to. Once the lining is reversed and a non-acidic lining applied, which will reiintroduce some of the texture to the paint which is currently subdued and consolidate the paint layer, the surface could be cleaned. What has been retouched in the figure is an assortmetn of small isolated losses. These retouches do not address abrasion; in face the paint layer in the figure is conspicuously un-abraded and looks veyr healthy. The retouches also address many of the cracks in the face, upper chest and arms, which the previous restorer felt was disturbing. However, cracking in and of itself is not something which should be retouched and these retouches could most likely be dispensed with. There is paint loss over the sitter's left eye and restorations accompany this. How big this paint loss is and how much of the restoration is necessary, is in question. The more damaged area of the puicture is the background on the left side where the upper left there is a series of scratches or tears which have attracted restoration in the past and it is more than likely that some kind of pentimenti exsists in the background, which may have also given rise to some retouches. It is fair to say that the condition of the background on the left side is poor and although the restoration could be refined and applied much more accurately, there will still be an issue here. On the right side of the background the condition is much better. There are a few retouches yet not any cause to worry.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

A closely related portrait of a child with dark hair, wearing a pink dress, painted by Phillips, circa 1832, is in the Edward Duff Balken Collection of American Folk Art at Princeton University, and is illustrated and discussed in Charlotte Emans, A Window into Collecting American Folk Art: The Edward Duff Balken Collection at Princeton, 2000, pp. 59-61.

Another comparable portrait is that of James Mairs Salisbury of Greene County, New York, painted circa 1835, now in the collection of the American Folk Art Museum, New York. Both Salisbury and the Balken collection portrait at Princeton University are part of a series of portraits of seated children in red costumes painted by Phillips from 1830 to 1835. The present example has the additional detail of senuous piping on the waistband and deep points on the collar and sleeve.