Ralph Earl – American artist

Ralph Earl (May 11, 1751 - Aug 16, 1801) was an American historical and portrayal painter. Ralph Earl was an itinerant artist who decorated 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. In the autumn of 1774, Earl returned to Leicester, Massachusetts to marry his cousin, Sarah Gates. A few months later, their daughter was born; though, 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 several years was an itinerant painter. In 1775, Earl visited Lexington and Concord, which were the sites of new battles in the American Revolution. Together with engraver Amos Doolittle, he painted four of his most well-known pictures, all battle scenes.

In London, he entered the studio of Benjamin West, and decorated 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 ceremony with Sarah Gates. In 1785 or 1786, Earl returned to the United States with his new wife.

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