Chauncy Foster Ryder

American 1868-1949

Chauncey Foster Ryder—whose drypoint etchings were admired for their unique mixture of “vigour with stunning Bareness”—was said to have never wasted a line, whatever medium he chose.

Ryder began his studies in Chicago, but by 1901 had sold all his possessions in order to take advantage of an opportunity to study art in Paris. Soon after enrolling in the Academie Julien under Jean Paul Laurens and Raphael Colin, Ryder began to show his work at the annual Paris Salon.

In 1907, a prominent American art dealer, William Macbeth discovered Ryder and began representing him with immediate success in New York—a business relationship that proved to be life-long. By 1909, Ryder had opened a New York studio while continuing to show in Paris, as well. Later, Ryder spent much of his time in New England where his landscapes became easily recognisable and widely admired.

Chauncey Foster Ryder was the winner of a silver medal at the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915, the Salmagundi Club Show Prize in 1926, the National Academy of Design, Obrig Prize in 1933 and a gold medalist at the Paris International Exposition in 1937. Highly collectable to this day, Ryder’s work can be found in major museums including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum & the Renwick Gallery