Lot Essay
During the 1790s Ralph Earl ranked as the foremost portrait painter of the prosperous Connecticut gentry. Unlike other painters, such as Charles Willson Peale, who practiced their trade in a particular city, Earl worked as an itinerant painter and developed patrons across the Connecticut River valley. E. Kornhauser has written, "More than any other artist of the time, Earl was qualified to create an appropriate style to satisfy the aesthetic sensibilities of his Connecticut subjects. His English experience proved a valuable asset, allowing him to impress his patrons with his technical skills and stylish compositions. Yet it was the artist's roots in Worcester county that allowed him to comprehend fully the restrained tastes, republican virtues, and pious values of the Connecticut inhabitants. He achieved the desired effect in his portraits by a deliberate rejection of British aristocratic imagery, cleverly tempering his academic style to suit his subjects' modest pretensions." (Ralph Earl: The Face of the Young Republic, Hartford, Connecticut, 1991, p. 41)
John Phelps was a typical patron for Earl. An unfailing patriot who espoused republican virtues, Phelps was born in Suffield, Connecticut in 1736. Upon his marriage in 1754 to Mary Richardson, he settled in Stafford Springs. Phelps was an influential member of the agrarian gentry in rural Connecticut, and he also developed profitable business interests in mining and iron production. As was customary for many prominent citizens of considerable means, Phelps served as a Justice of the Peace in Stafford Springs and also represented his town in the Connecticut legislature.
During the American Revolution, Phelps showed his mettle as both patriot and businessman. In 1775 he joined a consortium to erect a blast furnace, where he manufactured cannon balls and other war implements for the government. After the war, along with Elisha Treat Mills, he served as a delegate to the convention to ratify the Constitution of the United States.
Earl has placed Phelps in a chair to the left of the composition; his arm rests on a table that holds a stack of books and Phelps' commission signed by Governor Samuel Huntington appointing the sitter as a probate judge. Phelps wears a dark frock coat decorated with gold buttons, matching vest and breeches, and silk stockings. The large buckles on his shoes were first seen in fashionable footwear in the 1780s and by 1792 were worn by most men. A patterned carpet covers the floor.
Earl has included elements that speak to the sitter's status, wealth and achievements. Through the window at right Earl has painted a landscape filled with large buildings along a dam and river--the ironworks that were the source of Phelps' prosperity. Prominent are the three massive mounds that may represent ore or leftover debris from the process of smelting iron. Tiny figures can be seen in the landscape, pushing wheelbarrows and moving equipment by the river below the dam. Such details speak to the prosperity and industriousness of established individuals such as Phelps and they also reflect Earl's interest in recording the entrepreneurial spirit of the new republic.
John Phelps was a typical patron for Earl. An unfailing patriot who espoused republican virtues, Phelps was born in Suffield, Connecticut in 1736. Upon his marriage in 1754 to Mary Richardson, he settled in Stafford Springs. Phelps was an influential member of the agrarian gentry in rural Connecticut, and he also developed profitable business interests in mining and iron production. As was customary for many prominent citizens of considerable means, Phelps served as a Justice of the Peace in Stafford Springs and also represented his town in the Connecticut legislature.
During the American Revolution, Phelps showed his mettle as both patriot and businessman. In 1775 he joined a consortium to erect a blast furnace, where he manufactured cannon balls and other war implements for the government. After the war, along with Elisha Treat Mills, he served as a delegate to the convention to ratify the Constitution of the United States.
Earl has placed Phelps in a chair to the left of the composition; his arm rests on a table that holds a stack of books and Phelps' commission signed by Governor Samuel Huntington appointing the sitter as a probate judge. Phelps wears a dark frock coat decorated with gold buttons, matching vest and breeches, and silk stockings. The large buckles on his shoes were first seen in fashionable footwear in the 1780s and by 1792 were worn by most men. A patterned carpet covers the floor.
Earl has included elements that speak to the sitter's status, wealth and achievements. Through the window at right Earl has painted a landscape filled with large buildings along a dam and river--the ironworks that were the source of Phelps' prosperity. Prominent are the three massive mounds that may represent ore or leftover debris from the process of smelting iron. Tiny figures can be seen in the landscape, pushing wheelbarrows and moving equipment by the river below the dam. Such details speak to the prosperity and industriousness of established individuals such as Phelps and they also reflect Earl's interest in recording the entrepreneurial spirit of the new republic.