Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl (1788-1838)
Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl was born in New York, the son of famed portraitist Ralph Earl (1751-1801). He likely learned much from his father, but early in his career, he also studied with John Trumbull and Benjamin West in England. He spent 1814-1815 in Paris where he met John Vanderlyn and studied the greats at the Louvre. Upon his return to the U.S., Earl toured the south, painting portraits. It was then that he met Andrew Jackson, who he followed to Washington, D.C., and of whom he painted over two dozen portraits (he was, in fact, often referred to as the “court painter”). Prior to his relocation to Washington, Earl had married and lost Jackson’s niece, and upon the death of Jackson’s wife, he and Earl became the closest of companions. Unfortunately, Earl’s post-Washington career was cut short by his death in 1838.
Information courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.