Portrait of Robert Lottridge Dorr (1812-1880)

Date1814-1815

Attributed to Ammi Phillips (1788-1865)

OriginAmerica, New York, Columbia County

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsUnframed: 22 1/4 x 18in. and Framed: 25 3/8 x 21 3/8in.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1958.100.8

DescriptionThree-quarter length portrait of a standing child, turned very slightly to his right (viewer's left): his left arm is bent at the elbow and he holds a bunch of bright red cherries close to his chest in his hand. The other hand is extended down toward the low left corner of the picture plane, and in this hand, he holds a small branch from a cherry tree, with leaves and fruit on it. He is a very fair-haired (towheaded) and fair-skinned child, with intense blue eyes which directly address the viewer. His neck and wrists show folds of baby fat. The contours of his body are accentuated with dark outlining, particularly the side of his face & jawline and the top of his visible ear. His mouth is full, orange and slightly turned up at the corners. His loose fitting dress has a low, square neckline with short, puffed sleeves; the background color of the dress is a medium to dark green, almost an olive, and this is covered with the repeat print of a red, flower-like design outlined in yellow.
The 2-inch scoop-molded frame has mortise and tenon joins, the exterior sides and inner molding being painted black, the outer molding being painted gold; it is original.
Label TextThis likeness of young Robert Dorr hints strongly at the characteristic style developed by Phillips in later years and typified by his so-called Kent Period paintings. Particularly notable are the boy's triangular-shaped thumb and blunt fingertips, which anticipate the shorthand techniques Phillips later employed so successfully. The brilliant red of the cherries and dress pattern also denote a sharp break with the dreamy pastels more typical of the early phase of the artist's career. Dark‚ reddish definition of the contours of the child's skin contrasts vividly with the wispy treatment and pale coloration of his hair.
Robert's likeness is paired in size and pose with Phillips's portrait of his next older sister Henrietta, which is in the Balken Collection of the Princeton University Art Museum. Phillip's portrait of a still older sister, Catherine Van Slyck Dorr, is owned by the University of California at Berkeley. All other Phillips portraits of Robert's immediate family members are owned by Colonial Williamsburg.
Robert was the sixth child of Dr. Russell and Polsapianna Bull Dorr of Chatham Center, New York. He studied law, was admitted to the Columbia County Bar in 1835, and served as town clerk of Chatham in 1836. In June 1837 he joined the U. S. Patent Office in Washington, D. C., and shortly afterward received an appointment to the General Land Office. Unhappiness in this last-named job prompted him to write, in 1839, "Unpublished Chapters," an aggrieved recollection of the actions of his Land Office colleagues and a bitter defense against what he considered petty, self-motivated accusations. About 1842 Robert moved to Dansville in Livingston County, New York. He practiced law there continuously (but was also later listed as a farmer). In 1852, he married Mary Tompkins (1832?-1875) of Steuben County, New York, and they had three sons.
ProvenanceJ. Stuart Halladay and Herrell George Thomas Sheffield, Mass. Halladay died in 1951, leaving his interest in their jointly-owned collection to his partner, Thomas. Thomas died in 1957, leaving his estate to his sister, Mrs. Albert N. Petterson, who was AARFAC's vendor.