Ammi Phillips, portrait painter

Sometimes history is hidden in places despite some fame. Ammi Phillips was an itinerant portrait painter in the early 19th century. He traveled in eastern New York and throughout the Berkshires. Some of his local portraits include Gideon Smith and members of the Barnes and Whitney families. Ammi Phillips died in the Curtisville section of town in 1865. 

This week’s spotlight shows Mrs. Watson Phillips standing outside the Ammi Phillips house around 1900. – February 11, 2026

Stockbridge Library Museum & Archives Photography Collection 1994.787