Erastus salisbury field biography sample

Erastus Salisbury Field and his twin sister, Salome, were born in Leverett, Massachusetts, on 19 May 1805. Erastus Field showed an early talent for sketching portraits, and in 1824 the aspiring artist traveled to New York City to study with Samuel F.

B. Morse. Field's instruction was cut short by the death of Morse's wife in 1825, and it is not evident what Field learned. He and another pupil were described by Morse as "very tractable and useful." The next documentation of Field's activity is an 1828 letter in which the artist reported that people considered his portraits "good likenesses." In 1831 he married PhebeGilmur in Ware, Massachusetts, and their only child was born the next year.

His career apparently prospered during the 1830s, for the artist produced a multitude of rapidly executed portraits (often completed in one day) which commanded fair prices. Field's best portraits date from around 1836--the year he returned to Leverett from Ware--to about 1840.

After traveling to