Portrait of a Connecticut Clockmaker

Ralph Earl, Portrait of a Connecticut Clockmaker, ca. 1800, oil on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orrin Wickersham June, 1967.136.2
Ralph Earl, Portrait of a Connecticut Clockmaker, ca. 1800, oil on wood, 10 147 78 in. (26.120.1 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orrin Wickersham June, 1967.136.2
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Artwork Details

Title
Portrait of a Connecticut Clockmaker
Artist
Attributed to Ralph Earl
Date
ca. 1800
Dimensions
10 147 78 in. (26.120.1 cm) oval
Credit Line
Gift of Orrin Wickersham June
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on wood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — craft — clockmaker
  • Cityscape — Connecticut
  • Portrait male — unidentified
Object Number
1967.136.2

Artwork Description

Ralph Earl was born into a prominent family of craftsmen, and his portraits are painted with sharp attention to detail. In this painting the subject sits in a Sheraton “fancy” armchair, a type that was especially popular in the Connecticut Valley, where Earl worked. The wooden clock on the tea table might be a kind of clock that was developed in that region for mass production. The clock and books are emblems of the subject’s skill and education, which have earned him a respectable and influential position in society. Earl also portrayed the clockmaker’s wife, and the two portraits were meant to be shown together as pendants.

Works by this artist (4 items)

Ralph Earl, Portrait of a Connecticut Clockmaker, ca. 1800, oil on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orrin Wickersham June, 1967.136.2
Portrait of a Connecticut Clockmaker
Artist
Attributed to Ralph Earl
Dateca. 1800
oil on wood
On view
Ralph Earl, Portrait of a Connecticut Clockmaker's Wife, ca. 1800, oil on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orrin Wickersham June, 1967.136.3
Portrait of a Connecticut Clockmaker’s Wife
Artist
Attributed to Ralph Earl
Dateca. 1800
oil on wood
On view
Ralph Earl, Mrs. Richard Alsop, 1792, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase and gift of Joseph Alsop, 1975.49.1
Mrs. Richard Alsop
Date1792
oil on canvas
On view
Ralph Earl, Mrs. Joseph Wright, 1792, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase and gift of Joseph Alsop, 1975.49.2
Mrs. Joseph Wright
Date1792
oil on canvas
On view

More Artworks from the Collection

William Holbrook Beard, The Runaway Match, 1877, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1977.55
The Runaway Match
Date1877
oil on canvas
Not on view
John Henry Twachtman, Figure in Sunlight (Artist's Wife), ca. 1890-1900, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.137
Figure in Sunlight (Artist’s Wife)
Dateca. 1890-1900
oil on canvas
On view
Unidentified (Italian), Saint, 19th century, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Laura Dreyfus Barney and Natalie Clifford Barney in memory of their mother, Alice Pike Barney, 1952.13.157
Saint
Artist
Unidentified (Italian)
Date19th century
oil on canvas
Not on view