Portrait of a Lady

Ralph Earl, American, 1751 - 1801

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1784

Oil on canvas

Overall: 48 1/2 × 37 1/2 in. (123.2 × 95.3 cm)

Frame: 55 7/8 × 44 7/8 in. (141.9 × 114 cm)

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Katharine T. and Merrill G. Beede 1929 Fund, the Phyllis and Bertram Geller 1937 Memorial Fund, the Mrs. Harvey P. Hood W'18 Fund, the Guernsey Center Moore 1904 Memorial Fund, the Robert J. Strasenburgh II 1942 Fund, the Julia L. Whittier Fund, the Hood Museum of Art Acquisitions Fund and through gifts, by exchange

P.990.43

Geography

Place Made: United States, North America

Period

1600-1800

Object Name

Painting

Research Area

Painting

Not on view

Inscriptions

Signed, dated and inscribed, lower left: R. Earl/Pinxit/1784

Label

During the 18th century, American portraitists looked primarily to British painting for inspiration, as evidenced by this fashionable likeness by New England painter Ralph Earl. In 1784, the year in which he painted this portrait, Earl was working in Windsor, England. This work’s somewhat generalized landscape, the sitter’s gracefully tilted head, and the costume’s fluid, painterly treatment all reflect the height of British taste in portraiture. Although the sitter for this portrait is unidentified, her confident gaze and stylish attire indicate a prominent social background, and the letter she holds, which is only partially legible, may suggest the romantic attentions of a male admirer.

Interestingly, when Earl returned to America in 1785 or 1786, he rejected the elegant British manner seen here and adopted instead a “plain” style of firm forms and bright, saturated colors. This shift may suggest that his American clientele preferred to present themselves in a style less closely associated with British aristocracy.

From the 2019 exhibition American Art, Colonial to Modern, curated by Barbara J. MacAdam, Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art


Course History

HIST 9.1, Empires and Colonies in North America, Paul Musselwhite, Fall 2014

HIST 9.01, America: From Invasion to Independence, Paul Musselwhite, Fall 2019

HIST 5.14, Americas: Invasion to Independence, Paul Musselwhite and Ernesto Mercadeo-Montero, Fall 2022

Exhibition History

A Space for Dialogue 26, Feminine Genius: Sensibility, Sensuality, and Sense in Eighteenth-Century Portraiture, Kori Lisa Yee Litt, Class of 2005, Curatorial/Education Department Intern, Main Lobby, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 23-July 10, 2005.

American Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art, William B. Jaffe and Evelyn A. Jaffe Hall Galleries, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 9-December 9, 2007.

American Art, Colonial to Modern, Israel Sack Gallery and Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26-July 21, 2019.

American Viewpoints: Painting and Sculpture from the Hood Museum of Art, Timken Museum of Art, San Diego, California, May 5-August 31, 2003.

Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 26, 1991-June 1, 1993.

Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 29, 2000-June 3, 2001.

Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 23, 1997-May 28, 1998.

Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 7, 2010-October 17, 2011.

Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, February 23-September 12, 1999.

Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 5, 2001-May 11, 2002.

Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 26, 1996-June 22, 1997.

The Object World, Harrington Gallery Teaching Exhibition, ARTH2, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, February 5-March 15, 2015.

Publication History

Kori Lisa Yee Litt, A Space for Dialogue 26, Feminine Genius: Sensibility, Sensuality, and Sense in Eighteenth-Century Portraiture, Hanover, New Hampshire: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 2005, ill. p. 1.

Barbara J. MacAdam, American Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Muesum of Art, Hanover: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2007, p. 21, no. 1.

Barbara J. MacAdam, Building on Dartmouth's Historic American Collections: Hood Museum of Art Acquisitions since 1985, The Magazine Antiques, November 2007, New York: Brant Publications, color ill. p. 145.

Provenance

Anna Case Mackay; Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, New York; sold to present collection, 1990.

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