Artwork
Philip Slade
Philip Slade is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist Ammi Phillips. It dates from 1818 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 64.309.3
- Credit line
- Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1964
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Together they suggest that the sitter is both pious and educated, a common pairing in early‑American portraiture to convey moral and intellectual virtue.
The painting portrays Philip Slade, a seated man, holding a Bible in one hand and a book in the other. These two objects constitute the primary iconography of the work. The Bible signals religious devotion, while the book denotes literacy and scholarly pursuits.
Together they suggest that the sitter is both pious and educated, a common pairing in early‑American portraiture to convey moral and intellectual virtue. The composition places the figure against a plain background, focusing attention on the attributes that define his identity and character.
Technique & Style
The painting Philip Slade is executed in oil on canvas, with a textile support typical of early nineteenth‑century American works. Dated 1818, it is a portrait attributed to Ammi Phillips and is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing. The sources describe the medium as oil paint and canvas and identify the genre as portrait, but they do not provide details about the artist’s handling technique, surface condition, or specific formal qualities beyond its figurative depiction of a man with a book and Bible.
History & Provenance
The work titled Philip Slade, painted by Ammi Phillips in 1818, is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection and is housed in The American Wing. It is listed in the museum's inventory as an oil on canvas portrait depicting a Bible, a book, and a man. The painting entered the Met's holdings with no publicly documented accession number provided in the sources, and its exhibition record is not detailed in the available documentation.
Ownership and provenance are traced to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which maintains the work in its permanent collection.
Overview
This oil on canvas depicts Philip Slade, a seated man in a dark coat. He holds a book, his finger marking a page, and gazes out with an unexpressive demeanor. The portrait exemplifies the direct and unadorned style prevalent in early American painting.
It offers a glimpse into the visual culture of New England families who commissioned such works to commemorate their likenesses.
Artist & collection
Artist
Ammi Phillips (April 24, 1788 – July 11, 1865) was a prolific American itinerant portrait painter active from the mid 1810s to the early 1860s in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York.
