Portrait of Major Asher Phillips
Object number86.1.116
Artist
Unknown
Date1830
MediumOil on board; Wood
Credit LineGift of the Estate of Margaret Phillips
DescriptionFramed oval oil painting. Three-quarter bust portrait of a man with dark hair. He is seated and is wearing a black coat with a high collar, white shirt and black tie. Red curtain in the background. Gold frame.Dimensions37.4999 x 32.4999 in. (95.3 x 82.6 cm)SignedNone
MarksBack label removed and placed in file.
Historical NotesMajor Asher Phillips married Sarah Mahon Ormsby in 1827 and they had two four children, Mary, Joseph, Ormsby, and Sarah. Their son Ormsby was elected Mayor of Allegheny City in 1874 and their daughter married Nathaniel Hill Burgwin. Sarah Street in the South Side of Pittsburgh is named after his wife. This painting was donated to the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania by the estate of Margaret Phillips. She was the granddaughter of Major Asher Phillips and Sarah Mahon Ormsby Phillips. Her parents were Ormbsy Phillips and Anne Steevenson Bakewell Phillips.
Related person
Major Asher Phillips
(1790 - 1843)
Previous owner
Mary Burgwin
(1862 - 1957)
Related person
Sarah Mahon Ormsby Phillips
(1803 - 1885)
Subjects
Terms
On View
Not on viewCollections
Malcolm Parcell