Artist:
Ralph Earl
(American, 1751 - 1801)
Sitter:
Major General Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, Baron von Steuben
Baron von Steuben
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1786
Dimensions:
52 1/4 × 44 in. (132.7 × 111.8 cm)
Accession number: 94.16.1
Label Copy:
Ralph Earl painted several versions of this formal military portrait of Baron Frederic Wilhelm von Steuben, a major general in the Continental Army. Prussian-born Major General Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, Baron von Steuben (1730-1794), served as aide-de-camp to Frederick the Great before coming to America in 1777 to support the American cause. He offered his assistance to the Second Continental Congress in reorganizing the undisciplined American army on the European model. In this portrait he wears a dress sword presented to him by the United States Congress, the star of the Prussian Order of Fidelity, and the insignia of the American Society of the Cincinnati. When he left military service in 1784, he was granted full citizenship and a pension by the Congress, as well as a significant land grant in the Mohawk Valley of New York State, where he retired.
Ralph Earl was born in Worcester County, Massachusetts, and began his career as a self-taught artist. A loyalist during the American Revolution, Earl fled to England and studied under Benjamin West. He returned to the United States in 1785 and became an itinerant artist, completing portraits of the landed gentry throughout the Northeast.
The subject of a Prussian military officer who served as General Washington’s chief of staff ran counter to Earl’s Loyalist leanings. Regardless of his personal politics, this major commission undoubtedly benefited Earl, who found himself in dire financial straits after his return to the United States, including a term in debtors’ prison. All three of the portraits (Yale University Art Gallery and Fenimore Art Museum) descended through branches of the family of James Duane, mayor of New York, and one of Earl’s benefactors through the Society for the Relief of Distressed Debtors.
Ralph Earl painted several versions of this formal military portrait of Baron Frederic Wilhelm von Steuben, a major general in the Continental Army. Prussian-born Major General Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, Baron von Steuben (1730-1794), served as aide-de-camp to Frederick the Great before coming to America in 1777 to support the American cause. He offered his assistance to the Second Continental Congress in reorganizing the undisciplined American army on the European model. In this portrait he wears a dress sword presented to him by the United States Congress, the star of the Prussian Order of Fidelity, and the insignia of the American Society of the Cincinnati. When he left military service in 1784, he was granted full citizenship and a pension by the Congress, as well as a significant land grant in the Mohawk Valley of New York State, where he retired.
Ralph Earl was born in Worcester County, Massachusetts, and began his career as a self-taught artist. A loyalist during the American Revolution, Earl fled to England and studied under Benjamin West. He returned to the United States in 1785 and became an itinerant artist, completing portraits of the landed gentry throughout the Northeast.
The subject of a Prussian military officer who served as General Washington’s chief of staff ran counter to Earl’s Loyalist leanings. Regardless of his personal politics, this major commission undoubtedly benefited Earl, who found himself in dire financial straits after his return to the United States, including a term in debtors’ prison. All three of the portraits (Yale University Art Gallery and Fenimore Art Museum) descended through branches of the family of James Duane, mayor of New York, and one of Earl’s benefactors through the Society for the Relief of Distressed Debtors.
Curatorial RemarksMajor General Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, Baron von Steuben (1730-1794), standing in a landscape, majestically dominates the space. He wears the star of the Prussian Order of Fidelity. The insignia on his lapel is of the American Society of the Cincinnati. This portrait is one of four that Earl painted of Baron von Steuben in military dress.
Of Prussian descent, von Steuben served as aide-de-camp to Frederick the Great before coming to America in 1777 to support the American cause. He offered to the Second Continental Congress his assistance in reorganizing the undisciplined American army on the European model. In this he succeeded, and Congress showed gratitude by presenting him with a dress sword, the silver hilt of which is shown in the painting. When he left the army in 1784, he was granted full citizenship and a pension by the Congress, as well as a significant land grant in the Mohawk Valley of New York State where he retired.
Although Ralph Earl was one of the earliest American painters of landscapes and historical scenes, he is famous for his portraits. As much as any other painter, he provided a record of post Revolutionary American dress, design, and decoration, as well as faces and figures. His paintings portray merchants and civic leaders of his day, often with their families and in their homes.
After the Colonies achieved independence, Earl studied in London with Benjamin West. His exposure to such artists as Gainsborough, Reynolds, and Romney made Earl a more skillful technician. In 1786 he returned to America, settling in New Milford, Connecticut, where he lived for the remainder of his life and where he painted what is considered his best work. His portraits are frank and realistic and add much to the pictorial record of late 18th century American life.
Of Prussian descent, von Steuben served as aide-de-camp to Frederick the Great before coming to America in 1777 to support the American cause. He offered to the Second Continental Congress his assistance in reorganizing the undisciplined American army on the European model. In this he succeeded, and Congress showed gratitude by presenting him with a dress sword, the silver hilt of which is shown in the painting. When he left the army in 1784, he was granted full citizenship and a pension by the Congress, as well as a significant land grant in the Mohawk Valley of New York State where he retired.
Although Ralph Earl was one of the earliest American painters of landscapes and historical scenes, he is famous for his portraits. As much as any other painter, he provided a record of post Revolutionary American dress, design, and decoration, as well as faces and figures. His paintings portray merchants and civic leaders of his day, often with their families and in their homes.
After the Colonies achieved independence, Earl studied in London with Benjamin West. His exposure to such artists as Gainsborough, Reynolds, and Romney made Earl a more skillful technician. In 1786 he returned to America, settling in New Milford, Connecticut, where he lived for the remainder of his life and where he painted what is considered his best work. His portraits are frank and realistic and add much to the pictorial record of late 18th century American life.