Artist : Ralph Earl
Painting : Captian John Pratt, Middletown, Connecticut
Painting : Captian John Pratt, Middletown, Connecticut
Monday, January 25, 2010
A Gentleman with a Gun and Two Dogs - ralph earl
Artist : Ralph Earl
Painting : A Gentleman with a Gun and Two Dogs
Painting : A Gentleman with a Gun and Two Dogs
Portrait of a Man with a Gun is a full-length portrait of a hunter.
He stands in the right half of the painting, facing three-quarters left. His head also is turned three-quarters left, and he looks at the viewer.
In his right hand he holds a black hat that is lined with blue fabric and a brown band; he extends it in a gesture that nearly reaches the right edge of the painting.
In his left hand he holds a rifle that balances on a diagonal from lower right to upper left and crosses in front of his other arm at the elbow.
The large format seems to have posed a challenge to Earl in that the
head is disproportionately small and the arms too long and slender.
The subject’s powdered hair is pulled back and apparently gathered in a queue; there is a single tight curl visible above his left ear.
He wears a white stock and bow and an orange, spotted waistcoat that is edged with a double row of gold braid and decorated with two rows of small gold-colored buttons.
He also has on a red coat with large, silver-colored buttons.
His buff-colored breeches are fastened at the knee with cloth-covered buttons of the same color and tucked into knee-high boots that are dark brown at the top and black
from the calf to the toe.
The man is accompanied by two hunting dogs, whose heads are turned in the direction of his gesture. The dog on the left, its back to the viewer, is placed on a diagonal from the bottom-left corner toward the middle of the image.
This animal has a dark gray head and ears and a large gray spot on the back of its neck; its coat is mottled gray and white.
The other dog stands in profile behind its master, its neck extended and facing left.
This canine has reddish-brown markings on its head and back and a similarly spotted coat.
The man and dogs appear in the clearing of a wooded landscape.
Gently curving lines of trees recede along the left and right sides; a single tree stands just behind and to the right of the hunter.
The sky has large gray clouds whose shapes echo the soft
contours of the trees as well as broad passages of pink and blue.
RALPH EARL
Ralph Earl ( 1751 – 1801) was an American painter known for his portraits
of which at least 183 can be documented.
He also painted 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.
In the autumn of 1774, Earl returned to Leicester, Massachusetts
to marry his cousin, Sarah Gates.
A few months later, their daughter was born; however, Earl left them both with Sarah's parents and returned to New Haven.
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.
Although his father was a colonel in the Revolutionary army, Ralph Earl himself was a Loyalist.
Nevertheless, working in collaboration with the engraver Amos Doolittle, he drew four battle scenes that were made into pro-Revolutionary propaganda prints.
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. 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.
He died in Bolton, Connecticut, on the August 16, 1801.
Alcoholism is believed to be the main cause of death.
of which at least 183 can be documented.
He also painted 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.
In the autumn of 1774, Earl returned to Leicester, Massachusetts
to marry his cousin, Sarah Gates.
A few months later, their daughter was born; however, Earl left them both with Sarah's parents and returned to New Haven.
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.
Although his father was a colonel in the Revolutionary army, Ralph Earl himself was a Loyalist.
Nevertheless, working in collaboration with the engraver Amos Doolittle, he drew four battle scenes that were made into pro-Revolutionary propaganda prints.
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. 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.
He died in Bolton, Connecticut, on the August 16, 1801.
Alcoholism is believed to be the main cause of death.
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