MARY PHILIPSE (1730-1825)

Art

-

Historic Hudson Valley

Name/Title

MARY PHILIPSE (1730-1825)

Entry/Object ID

PM.80.1 a-b

Description

a. Painting: Half-length, full face portrait of a young woman wearing yellow dress: dark hair, brown eyes, white lace cap with blue-green ribbon; blue-green ribbon at neck; yellow satin dress with square neck and three-quarter sleeves, pleated down the front on either side; lace around neckline and at sleeves; bodice of cream-colored silk; wildrose and clover blossoms at bosom b. Frame: Carved rococo gilt frame.

Artwork Details

Medium

Oil on Canvas, wood (unidentified), Oil on canvas, wood (unidentified)

Subject Person or Organization

Mary Philipse

Collection

Philipsburg Manor Object Collection

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

John Wollaston

Attribution

Artist

Date made

circa 1750

Other Names and Numbers

Other Numbers

PCR 2050
PM.80.2

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Framed

Height

36 in

Width

31-1/4 in

Depth

2 in

Dimension Notes

Display Dimensions: 36 x 31 1/4 x 2 in. (91.4 x 79.4 x 5.1 cm)

Dimension Description

Sight

Height

29 in

Width

24 in

Dimension Notes

Display Dimensions: 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 61 cm)

Condition

Notes

Remarks: Canvas was conserved by Felicity Campbell for Winter Antiques Show (see Treatment Report in Object File).

Notes

Remarks: Felicity Campbell examined the canvas for possible inclusion in the 2012 Winter Antiques Show Loan Exhibition: the old varnish is uniformly very yellowed and needs to be cleaned although probably not removed; there is a protrusion at the center bottom, between the canvas and the stretcher (she will investigate this further); there is old re-touching that has discolored on subject's face and one long tension crack along bust that has been retouched in the past; these areas can be improved; also the canvas needs a backing board; Marylou Davis examined the frame: she feels that this is a early 20th century frame that was created to match the frame of the portrait of Margaret Philipse (PM.80.1 a-b); the carving is not as deep or as skilled as the Margaret Philipse frame; the crackled, peeling treatment on Mary's frame is a 1920s-1930s acidic treament to make frames appear old; the treatment options are to completely strip and regild the frame, or make the frame a color (even a dark natural wood color), or make the color and tone even overall; the last and best option may be to display Mary in Margaret's frame, which is much older and appears to be about the same period as the portraits [Jessa J. Krick, 9/8/2011]

Notes

Remarks: Painting noted to have slight edge rub on top right side during inspection after loan; very likely this is old damage; portrait probably needs liner or spacer to prevent contact with frame

Notes

Remarks: Painting: There is overall crazing; speck to the viewer's right of sitter's eyes and near left shoulder. Some wear on paint from frame on viewer's left lower corner and the lower center. Frame: CAUTION WHEN MOVING FRAME. The highly carved frame does not have a flat surface to rest on. Overall wear and losses to both gesso level and also down to the wood.

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Mary Philipse

Notes

Subject

Person or Organization

Philipse Family

Notes

Former owner

General Notes

Note Type

Curatorial Remarks

Note

Mary would have have been about twenty years old at the time this portrait was painted; eight years before her marriage to Roger Morris. Mary Philipse (1730-1825) was the daughter of Frederick Philipse II and Joanna Brockholls; sister of Margaret Philipse (c. 1733-1752); great-niece of Adolph Philipse; she married British officer Roger Morris in 1758; Mary lived at the manor house in Yonkers, New York and at what is now called the Morris-Jumel Mansion in upper Manhattan after her marriage; because of their Tory leanings, the family's estates were confiscated in 1783 and the family fled to England. According to Joanna Pessa's short piece "Exhibition at Morris-Jumel" in Historic House News (Fall 1998) regarding the temporary display of Mary's portrait at Mansion: "The family sold most of their possessions at the end of the war, and settled permanently in Engalnd. However, their portraits went with them and remained in the family until the twentieth century." (The source of that information is unknown.) Mary Philipse was also painted by John Singleton Copley in 1771 (now owned by the Winterthur Museum). Accessioned in 1980, acquired before. For Visions exhibition, packed in Crate #6. For the Winter Antiques Show, the portrait of Mary was displayed in frame for the portrait of Margaret Philipse (PM.80.1 b), as it is a period frame in good condition of the exact same size; the frame for the portrait of Mary (which has been associated with it for the entire time the painting has been in the HHV collection is a imitation to "match" the frame for Margaret's portrait and was clearly identified as such by Mary Lou Davis who examined the frames of all the painting and prints intended to be displayed at the Winter Antiques Show).

Note Type

General Note

Note

Philipse family possession The Henry Francis de Pont Winterthur Museum owns a portrait of Mary Philipse Morris painted by John Singleton Copley in 1771.

Note Type

StorageNote

Note

Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Union Church, Storage, Unit 6 Slot 08