Ralph Earl
1751-1801
Ralph Earl was an American Colonial, historical and portrait painter. He was an itinerant artist who painted at least 183 individual portraits and six landscapes, including a panorama display of Niagara Falls.
Ralph Earl was born in either Shrewsbury or Leicester, Massachusetts. By 1774, he was working in New Haven, Connecticut as a portrait painter. Like so many of the colonial craftsmen, Earl was self-taught, and for many years was an itinerant painter. In 1775, Earl visited Lexington and Concord, which were the sites of recent battles in the American Revolution. Together with engraver Amos Doolittle, he painted four of his most famous pictures, all battle scenes.
In the autumn of 1774, Earl returned to Leicester, Massachusetts to marry his cousin, Sarah Gates. A few months later, their daughter was born.
Ralph Earl was working in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont and also in England from 1778 to 1785. Although his father was a colonel in the Revolutionary army, Ralph Earl himself was a Loyalist. In 1778, he left behind his wife and daughter and escaped to England by disguising himself as the servant of British army captain John Money.
In London, he entered the studio of Benjamin West, and painted the king and many notables. Earl continued painting portraits in the town of Norwich. He later married Ann Whiteside, an English woman, despite the fact that he had never ended his marriage with Sarah Gates. In 1785 or 1786, Earl returned to the United States with his new wife. After his return to America, he made portraits of Timothy Dwight, Governor Caleb Strong, Roger Sherman, and other prominent men. He also painted a large picture of Niagara Falls.
His portraits were praised for depicting the New England character in a blunt manner, putting emphasis on personal possession. Earl was an influence on John Brewster, Jr.
In September 1786, while living in New York City, Earl was imprisoned for failing to pay his personal debts. Even while in jail, he drew portraits of his visitors, friends, and family of the Society for the Relief of Distressed Debtors. He was released in January 1788. Earl died from alcoholism.
