Ralph Earle

Ralph Earle 1751-1801, American portrait and landscape painter, b. Worcester co., Mass. He is purported to have painted four scenes of the battle of Lexington as an eyewitness, but is best known for his portraits, which may be seen in the museums of Chicago, New York City, Worcester, Mass., and Yale Univ. Earle studied with Benjamin West in London, to the detriment of his previously uncluttered style. His later work shows the influence of Copley. Much of his work is characterized by a monumental gravity and directness, best exemplified by his powerful portrait of Roger Sherman (c.1775; Yale Univ.). The unevenness in his painting is sometimes attributed to his fondness for drink, which finally killed him.

Earl, Ralph (1751–1801). American painter, active in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont, and also in England (1778–85), when his loyalty to the British put his life in danger in his homeland. He painted landscapes and battle scenes of the Revolution, but was primarily a portraitist. Although his style became softer and more sophisticated after studying with West in London, his work generally has a sincerity and freshness of vision that makes him one of the finest American artists of the 18th century. His presentation of character is extremely forthright and his portraits convey the immense pride his New England sitters took in their possessions. Earl's personal life was a disaster. He was imprisoned for debt and died an alcoholic after deserting both of his wives in turn. Other members of his family were artists, notably his brother James (1761–96) and his son Ralph E. W. Earl (c.1785–1838), who is remembered mainly for his portraits of President Andrew Jackson, whose niece he had married.

Earl, Ralph (b Shrewsbury, Mass., 11 May 1751; d Bolton, Conn., 16 Aug. 1801). American painter, active in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont, and also in England (1778–85), when his loyalty to the British put his life in danger in his homeland. He painted landscapes and battle scenes of the Revolution, but was primarily a portraitist. Although his style became softer and more sophisticated after studying with West in London, his work generally has a sincerity and freshness of vision that makes him one of the finest American artists of the 18th century. His presentation of character is extremely forthright and his portraits convey the immense pride his New England sitters took in their possessions. Earl's personal life was a disaster. He was imprisoned for debt and died an alcoholic after deserting both of his wives in turn.

Several other members of his family were artists, notably his brother James Earl (1761–96), his son Ralph E. W. Earl (c.1785–1838), who is remembered mainly for his portraits of President Andrew Jackson, whose niece he had married, and his nephew (who preferred a different spelling of the surname) Augustus Earle (1793–1838). Earle was born and died in London, but he spent much of his career abroad, in South America, Australia, and elsewhere, and most of his work depicts the exotic places he visited. In 1832 he became artist to Charles Darwin's expedition on HMS Beagle, but because of ill health he was replaced the following year.