Collection: Erastus Salisbury Field

Erastus Salisbury Field (1805–1900) was an American folk art painter. Born in Leverett, Massachusetts, he received brief instruction from Samuel F. B. Morse in New York in 1825 before returning to Massachusetts. His early career established him as an itinerant portraitist.

In the 1830s, Field worked as a limner, traveling through western Massachusetts and the Connecticut Valley, where he was noted for capturing a "good likeness." During the 1840s in New York City, he explored photography, later utilizing David Acheson Woodward's solar camera to enlarge collodion negatives for oil over-painting. After 1847, he shifted focus to landscapes and history paintings, creating works with biblical and patriotic themes.

Field's later period included imaginative works such as *Historical Monument of the American Republic*, a monumental canvas begun in 1867 and developed over two decades, depicting a fantastical architectural vision of American history. His unique motif choices in his late work position him as an exception within American folk art.