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.