Portrait of a Woman with a Shawl

Erastus Salisbury Field, born Leverett, MA 1805-died Plumtrees, MA 1900 · ca. 1825-1850

Erastus Salisbury Field painted this portrait while working as a traveling portrait painter, fulfilling commissions around the Connecticut River valley. Portrait of a Woman with a Shawl is typical of Field’s plain-style portraits, with simplified forms and few shadows. Such portraits contrast with his later dreamscapes and historical and biblical scenes, which are often rich in fantastic and humorous details.