Ammi Phillips (1788-1865) painted more than two thousand portraits in various styles. Many are very much like The Strawberry Girl, with strong dark and light contrasts, and, almost, awkward figures. Phillips managed a steady income as a portrait artist, often painting members of the same family. I imagined that’s what may have been happening on this day.
There is a link here to a book on American naive paintings, with Ammi Phillips referenced from page 271.
The verse reference to the red robin can be found in James Orchard Halliwell’s The Nursery Rhymes of England here on page 163 of the book (187 of the upload).
More of my ekphrastic poetry here. More on repetitive free verse here.
The Strawberry Girl
Impassive, she sits, with the sweet smell
of strawberry tempting baby resistance.
Squirming at the itch of lace trim at
forehead and arms, stiff hand-me-downs
from a sister she hears, in the background,
singing a song about robins so red
who brought strawberry leaves,
and over them spread โ
she sighs, the strawberry girl,
as she leans into the red shawl,
her motherโs, suffused with the sweet smell
of strawberry, as if essential oils
and scented soaps and cologne combine
to amass a field of strawberries, their
purity, righteousness, innocence, pure joy.
And when the painter turns his head
to mix mulberry and strawberry paint,
the strawberry girl, thinking of wild
strawberry patches, red robins, tea sets,
pops yet another strawberry into
her mouth to dissolve slowly in her
strawberry cheeks, so, like a floral fairyโs,
the sweet smell of strawberry lingers
as impassively, she sits.
ยฉelsp 2026
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