Artwork
Portrait of a Lady
Portrait of a Lady is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist Ammi Phillips. It dates from 1816 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work stands as a documented example of portraiture from this period, preserving the visual record of the woman depicted.
The work depicts a single female subject, identified in catalog records simply as a woman. Painted in 1815 by Ammi Phillips, the portrait presents the sitter in a straightforward manner typical of the genre, without additional figures or complex narrative settings. The composition focuses entirely on the individual, emphasizing her presence through the medium of oil on canvas.
While the specific identity of the woman remains unrecorded in the available documentation, the painting serves as a formal representation of a female figure from the early nineteenth century. The subject's direct engagement with the viewer and the absence of overt symbolic attributes suggest the primary intent was to capture the likeness and status of the individual rather than to convey a broader allegorical message. The work stands as a documented example of portraiture from this period, preserving the visual record of the woman depicted.
History & Provenance
Created in 1815 by Ammi Phillips, this oil-on-canvas portrait depicts an unidentified woman. The work's ownership history traces back to Elizabeth Connell Luessenhop of McLean, Virginia, who received the painting as a gift from her mother. Luessenhop subsequently donated the piece to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., on December 1, 1969.
Following the dissolution of the Corcoran, the National Gallery of Art acquired the painting in 2014, where it remains part of the collection. The provenance record includes a curatorial note dated July 30, 1976, documenting the family transmission of the artwork prior to its institutional donation.
Context
Ammi Phillips’s 1815 Portrait of a Lady is an oil‑on‑canvas portrait of an unidentified woman, documented in the records of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and later the National Gallery of Art. Its provenance records a 1969 gift from Elizabeth Connell Luessenhop and a subsequent acquisition by the National Gallery in 2014, illustrating the painting’s institutional recognition. Cataloged in Wikidata as a work of 1815, the piece exemplifies early American portraiture and contributes to scholarship on Phillips’s role as an itinerant portraitist within the Federal‑era art market.
Overview
This oil on canvas, titled "Portrait of a Lady", was created by Ammi Phillips in 1816. The painting presents a seated female figure, captured with a direct gaze towards the observer. It exemplifies Phillips's early approach to portraiture, focusing on the sitter's presence through a straightforward composition and a restrained palette. The work offers insight into American portraiture during the early 19th century.
Technique & Style
Phillips employed a palette of simple colors, contributing to the overall calm and understated mood of the portrait. The artist's choice of subdued tones enhances the quiet seriousness of the sitter's expression, making her face the undeniable focal point. This approach to color and composition reflects a deliberate artistic choice to emphasize the subject's character rather than elaborate detail or dramatic effect, aligning with a prevalent style of the era.
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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.
