Portrait of David Baldwin
American Art
Portrait of David Baldwin
Artwork Details
Artist/Maker
Ralph Earl
American, 1751–1801
American, 1751–1801
Date
1790
Medium
Oil on canvas
Accession #
1985.221
Dimensions
56 3/4 x 61 7/8 inches
Location
On View - Stent Family Wing, Level 3, Gallery 307
Description
Ralph Earl’s portrait of David Baldwin, a prominent Connecticut merchant and civic leader, reveals his desire to be remembered as a wealthy, fashionable, and learned man. From his powdered wig to his buckled shoes, Baldwin appears in full command of his environment, confident of his place in the young American nation.
Earl absorbed British portrait tradition in London, where he lived during the Revolutionary War because of his Loyalist sympathies. Earl returned to America in 1785 to take advantage of the growing market for commissions that followed Independence.
Credit
Purchase in honor of Lawrence L. Gellerstedt, Jr., President of the Board of Directors, 1984–1986, with funds from Alfred Austell Thornton in memory of Leila Austell Thornton and Albert Edward Thornton, Sr., and Sarah Miller Venable and William Hoyt Venable, 1985.221Check This Out
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