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Phebe Buxton (1785-1837) was painted by the Shutes in Lowell, where she ran a boarding house for the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, who owned most of the mills in the city. The Shutes resided there along with numerous young female millworkers, some of whom also commissioned portraits from the couple.
Artist
Ruth Whittier Shute
(American, 1803 - 1882)
Artist
Samuel Addison Shute
(American, 1803 - 1836)
Phebe Buxton
Datec. 1831
DimensionsFramed: 30 5/8 × 26 1/16 × 1 1/2 in. (77.8 × 66.2 × 3.8 cm)
Sight: 25 9/16 × 21 1/16 in. (64.9 × 53.5 cm)
Object numberN0011.2023
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Museum purchase with funds partially provided by anonymous gift.
Label TextSamuel Addison and Ruth Whittier Shute were married in Sommersworth, New Hampshire in 1827, after which Samuel set aside his medical practice to join Ruth as an artistic partner. Together they traveled and painted portraits in New England and New York State until Samuel’s untimely death in 1836. Surviving inscriptions indicate that Ruth did the drawing and Samuel the painting. Their works are known for carefully delineated faces and eyes as well as vibrant, expressive brushstrokes. They often added details such as gold foil for jewelry.Phebe Buxton (1785-1837) was painted by the Shutes in Lowell, where she ran a boarding house for the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, who owned most of the mills in the city. The Shutes resided there along with numerous young female millworkers, some of whom also commissioned portraits from the couple.
On View
Not on viewc.1862
