Ashurst Gilbert (1786-1870), Bishop of Chichester

Phillips's later portrait of Ashurst Gilbert as Bishop of Chichester from 1850 is a companion to his earlier portrait of the same sitter as Principal of Brasenose College—documenting the same individual at two different stages of his career and ecclesiastical advancement. The pair of portraits demonstrates the sustained documentary function of Phillips's institutional practice, which tracked significant figures through successive phases of their careers rather than providing only single commemorative images. Gilbert's advancement from Oxford principal to bishop represented the standard trajectory of academically distinguished Anglican clergymen in the early Victorian period, and Phillips's later portrait updated the institutional record to reflect his elevated ecclesiastical status.

The episcopal version presents Gilbert in the fuller vestments of a bishop rather than the academic robes of the earlier college portrait. Phillips's handling maintains his consistent professional standard across the different versions. Comparison of the two portraits reveals the changes in the sitter's appearance over fifteen years.