Attributed to Henry Inman (1801-1846) Lived/Active: New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey

Portrait of Phillip Cunningham, Newport, Rhode Island, ca. 1829-30
Inscribed (verso): Phillip Cunningham, Newport
Brass plate on frame: Henry Inman, 1801-1846
Oil on canvas in a gesso and gilt pine frame.
30″ x 24 ½”, 34 ¾” x 29 ½” (frame)
Over-all in excellent original condition.
This handsome portrait of a sea captain is identified verso as Phillip Cunningham, whom presumably was in Newport when Henry Inman was visiting around 1829. The subject is seated in formal attire before an exterior view overlooking a coastline with a schooner under sail. No record of Phillip Cunningham’s presence in Newport has been found, and it is suspected that Cunningham was itinerant and not native to Newport.
Born in upstate New York during the first part of the 19th century, Henry Inman became the leading portrait painter of his time. He apprenticed under John Wesley Jarvis with whom he worked in tandem for a number of years. He established a studio in New York City and earned commissions to paint prominent New Yorkers, including his full-length portrait of Governor Martin Van Buren in the City Hall of New York. He was a founding member and vice president of the National Academy of Design and was the father of painter John O’Brien Inman (1828-1896).