Ralph Earl

Ralph Earl (May 11 1751 – August 16 1801) was an famous American painter. He is known for his portrait of Roger Sherman, as well as being one of the first American landscape artists.

Earl was born in Shrewsbury, 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.

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.

Although his father was a colonel in the Revolutionary army, 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.

Earl continued painting portraits in the town of Norwich. By 1783, he was living in London and attending Benjamin West. He later married Ann Whiteside, an English woman, despite the fact that he had never ended his marriage with Sarah Gates. In 1785, Earl returned to the United States with his new wife.

In September 1786, while living in New York City, Earl was emprisoned 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 in 1801 in Bolton, Connecticut. Alcoholism is believed to be the main cause of death.

Ralph Earl is the father of painter Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl.