Exceptional original miniature painting of Andrew Jackson by his 'court painter,' Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl, accomplished in oil on paper, 2.75 x 3.25, minutely signed in the upper right corner with the artist's initials, "R.E.W.E. after S.L.W.," referring to Samuel Lovett Waldo. The Metropolitan Museum holds an 1819 painting of Andrew Jackson by Waldo that boasts a clear resemblance in the face: this rendering, however, is more finely detailed in the uniform and adds a cloak draped around the heroic general. It is an image that Earl returned to more than once during the 1830s, as it was quite favorably received. Displayed in an elegant and attractive 7.5 x 8 birdseye maple frame. In fine condition.
Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl (born late 1780s-1838) traveled to London in 1809, where he studied for a year with John Trumbull and was advised by Benjamin West to learn perspective, anatomy, and three-dimensional illusion. He then embarked on grand-scale historical paintings in the European mode. Returning to America, he planned a project depicting the Battle of New Orleans and met with the heroic victor, General Andrew Jackson, at The Hermitage, in January 1817. He went on to paint several portraits of the Jackson family, and married Mrs. Jackson's niece, Jane Caffery, in 1819. He became a close friend of Andrew Jackson and his family, residing with them at the Hermitage after his wife's death in childbirth. When Jackson was elected president, Earl accompanied him to the White House and prolifically produced Jacksonian portraits, becoming known as the 'Court Painter' and 'the King's painter.' Earl's paintings may be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Hermitage in Nashville, and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.
