Portrait of a Connecticut Clockmaker's Wife

Ralph Earl, born Worcester County, MA 1751-died Bolton, CT 1801 · ca. 1800

This painting of a Connecticut clockmaker’s wife was meant to hang to the right of her husband’s portrait, preserving their images and values for subsequent generations. Ralph Earl showed her holding a book, possibly a Bible, as a sign of piety and literacy. The drapery in the background was a compositional device that the artist learned when he studied portraiture in England.