Three Children of Henry Joslen Carter186028 3/4 × 37 1/2"Oil on canvasGift of Cynthia K. Easterling in honor of her grandmother Grace E. Carter2012.5.10portrait1551464581Ammi PhillipsPaintingsThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.StockbridgeStockbridgeUnited StatesMassachusettsPaintingsStockbridgeAnna Electa (1845–1929) https://www.geni.com/people/Anna-Electa-Annie-Woods/6000000219795035836John Calvin Calhoun (1846–?) https://www.geni.com/people/John-Calvin-Carter/6000000219794984932Mary Adele (1856–?) https://www.geni.com/people/Mary-Bidwell/6000000219794994945This 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.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org18601860 2012 5 1 Anna Electa (1845–1929) https://www.geni.com/people/Anna-Electa-Annie-Woods/6000000219795035836John Calvin Calhoun (1846–?) https://www.geni.com/people/John-Calvin-Carter/6000000219794984932Mary Adele (1856–?) https://www.geni.com/people/Mary-Bidwell/6000000219794994945This 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.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org