Portrait of Abagail St.John Phelps

Description

Media Type

Image

Item Type

Paintings

Description

This painting is of one Abagail St. John Phelps, whose husband was Oliver Phelps. Oliver Phelps invented an earth moving machine, one of the first machines to be used during the building of the First Welland Canal.

The large oil painting shows a woman, Phelps, who has dark hair, eyes, and clothing. The painting is in a wood veneer frame 4 3/4 inches wide. There is a 4 1/2 inche x 1 inch brass plaque on the bottom center of the wooden frame. The words "Abagail St. John Phelps 1783-1871" are engraved on the plaque.

Abigail St. John Phelps is painted on a dark background with a dark red curtain on the left-hand side of the painting. She is wearing a black dress with a white-lace head piece and white lace on her neck and on her shoulders. At her throat is a gold brooch.

Notes

Donated by Lt. Col. Roy C. Phelps. This painting was previously hung in the First United Church in St. Catharines after being donated by Mrs. John S Campbell, great-grandaughter of Abagail St. John Phelps.

Inscriptions

On the reverse of the painting there is a label that describes the treatment from the 1920s, signed by the Restorer J. Loxton Rawbon (specialist), Toronto, Ont. Canada.

Brass plate on the bottom of the frame : Abagail St. John Phelps, 1783-1871.

Date of Original

1783-1871

Dimensions

Width: 85.7 cm
Height: 99 cm

Subject(s)

Art
Portrait paintings
Women

Local identifier

1975.177.1

Language of Item

English

Geographic Coverage

St. Catharines

Ontario, Canada

Latitude: 43.1552304567254 Longitude: -79.1939163208008

Donor

Lt.Col. Roy C. Phelps

Copyright Statement

Protected by copyright: Uses other than research or private study require the permission of the rightsholder(s). Responsibility for obtaining permissions and for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Copyright Date