James Earl
James Earl was the younger brother by 10 years of the artist Ralph Earl. Their ancestors were Quakers who left Exeter, England, for Rhode Island around 1634. The family eventually settled in Massachusetts, and James was born in Worcester County in 1761. He may have been trained by his older brother. As many of Earl’s portraits depict former American colonists who fled to London immediately after the American Revolution, it is believed that he may have had loyalist sympathies.
Is a portrait timeless or frozen in a moment in time?
Daughter of a prominent Newport family and wife of a distinguished Providence merchant, Elizabeth Rodman Rogers is shown here in a vivid, spontaneous moment. She glances up from her book, finger still holding her place, as if a friend or family member has just walked into the room. This sense of intimacy was fashionable at the time the portrait was painted, and Earl was known for his “uncommon facility in hitting of the likeness . . . of giving life to the eye, and expression of every feature.”
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd
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