A PAIR OF PORTRAITS: PROBABLY DEACON JOSIAH AND JERUSHA (FOOTE) SMITH

Born in Leverett, Massachusetts in 1805, Erastus Salisbury Field was largely self-taught. He traveled to New York to study with Samuel F.B. Morse for a brief period of time, and then he began a successful career working primarily in the Connecticut and Massachusetts regions. His early portraits, like the present lot, exhibit boldly scaled figures that fill the canvas and are often surrounded by a grey cloud-like background. Field struggled to depict sitters naturally which resulted in figures with narrow shoulders, short waists, long arms and pointy elfin ears. He also struggled with hands and fingers. He made up for the awkward forms by highlighting the fancy dress of his upper middle class subjects. This is displayed in the elaborate lace bonnet worn by Jerusha.
At the time of their sale in 1981, these portraits were noted to depict Deacon Joshua Smith of Winstead, Connecticut and his wife, Jerusha Foote of Lee, Massachusetts. Genealogical records suggest that these sitters are most likely Deacon Josiah Smith (1784-1852) of Winsted, Connecticut, who married Jerusha Foote (1789-1853) of Lee, Massachusetts in 1812. As indicated by the 1850 census, the couple operated a boardinghouse in Windsor, Connecticut.