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Three Children of Henry Joslen Carter
Ammi Phillips
Photo courtesy Heritage Auctions, Inc.
Three Children of Henry Joslen Carter
Three Children of Henry Joslen Carter
Ammi Phillips
Photo courtesy Heritage Auctions, Inc.
Three Children of Henry Joslen Carter Ammi Phillips Photo courtesy Heritage Auctions, Inc.
Record Details

Three Children of Henry Joslen Carter

Artist ((1788–1865))
Date1860
Place/RegionStockbridge, Massachusetts, United States
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions28 3/4 × 37 1/2"
Credit LineGift of Cynthia K. Easterling in honor of her grandmother Grace E. Carter
Accession number2012.5.1
CopyrightThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.
Description

This is one of only a few portraits by Ammi Phillips that includes multiple subjects. It depicts the three children of Henry Joslen Carter, scion of one of the founding families of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. According to one tradition, the artist painted six family members in 1860 from an upper floor bedroom he used as a studio. Phillips charged twenty-five dollars for this triple portrait and ten dollars each for three individual portraits, including a posthumous portrait of an adult cousin.

The three children are lovingly intertwined and bear attributes of their youth; a bird, a flower, and a sprig of strawberries. The brightly colored dresses of the girls form an ornamental contrast to the plain deep background, while their brother's black suit is subsumed into darkness, highlighting instead his pale and patrician face. The highly enameled surface is typical of Phillips's work from the late 1820s to the end of his career, in which he eliminated apparent brushwork. According to family recollection, the eldest daughter, Anna Electa, suffered from a cleft palate, which is barely visible in this portrayal.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Three Children of Henry Joslen Carter," exhibition label for Recent Gifts. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2013.

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