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The
American Artist in Connecticut: Introduction |
Portraiture
in Early Connecticut : 3 After the Revolution, the leading artist in the state was Ralph Earl, a Massachusetts native who visited several Connecticut towns in the late 1780s and early ‘90s and painted more than 100 portraits. To give his patrons the look of virtue, character, and industry they continued to demand, Earl tempered the refined style he had learned from Benjamin West in England while sitting out the American Revolution. His mix of primitive and sophisticated elements inspired local followers, who have become known as the Connecticut School. Among them are Mary Way, John Brewster, Jr., Harlan Page, and Ammi Phillips. Like Johnston and Earl, Brewster and Phillips had to travel from place to place in order to make a living, while Way and Page moved to New York City. >next: Discovering the Connecticut Landscape 1 . 2 . 3 |