From Shrewsbury

Ralph Earl

Born 1751, Worcester County, Mass. Family moved to Leicester, Mass., where he grew up. Art study unknown. 1774, established studio in New Haven, Conn. Married Sarah Gates, later divorced. A loyalist, he left Connecticut 1777, arrived in London, April 1778. Studied with Benjamin West; exhibited at Royal Academy. About 1784, married Ann Whiteside; two children. Returned to Boston, May 1785; same year, moved to New York City. Drinking and extravagance led to debtor's prison. Traveled in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Reversion in style led to synthesis of competence and naiveté in last decade. Died 16 August 1801, Bolton, Mass.; cause of death listed as "intemperance."William KlossTreasures from the National Museum of American Art(Washington, D.C. and London: National Museum of American Art with the Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985)