Artwork
Mrs. Day
Mrs. Day is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist Ammi Phillips. It dates from 1835 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Phillips's handling reflects the folk-portrait conventions associated with his practice, with the canvas providing a smooth ground for the layered oil paint.
Mrs. Day is executed in oil on canvas, a standard support for American portraiture of the period. The painting measures 82.5 by 71.2 centimeters, an intimate scale suited to a sitter's likeness. Phillips's handling reflects the folk-portrait conventions associated with his practice, with the canvas providing a smooth ground for the layered oil paint. The work is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
History & Provenance
Mrs. Day is an 1835 oil-on-canvas portrait by Ammi Phillips, depicting an unidentified woman. The work was created in the Hudson River Valley region of New York. It entered the market in 1950 when Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch acquired it from Thurston Thacher of Hyde Park, New York; the couple subsequently gifted the painting to the National Gallery of Art in 1953, where it remains in the institution's collection.
Overview
Ammi Phillips's oil on canvas portrait, titled Mrs. Day, was created around 1835. This painting captures a seated woman, likely the eponymous Mrs. Day, within an interior setting. As a characteristic work of its period, it exemplifies the artist's approach to portraiture, focusing on the individual while providing subtle contextual details through her attire and surroundings.
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents a woman with a composed demeanor, seated within a room. Her period clothing and the surrounding domestic elements, such as furniture and a window, offer a glimpse into her environment. The artist emphasizes the sitter's face, drawing the viewer's attention to her quiet expression and individual features, making her the central point of the composition.
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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.
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