Biography from Childs Gallery:
| Chauncey Foster Ryder was born in Danbury, Connecticut in 1868. He
spent much of his youth in New Haven, Connecticut, where he began to
pursue an interest in painting between the ages of ten and
twelve. In his early twenties he moved to Chicago for artistic
instruction, studying first at the Art Institute and then at Smith’s
Academy, where he became an instructor after his first year as a
student. In 1891 he married Mary Dole Keith, and in 1901 they
sold their belongings and moved to France so that he could study art in
Paris.
He first enrolled in the Academie Julien, under Jean Paul Laurens and
Raphael Colin; after two years there, he began to exhibit works at the
annual Paris Salon, and showed works regularly there from
1903-1909. At this time he also developed a friendship with
American artist Max Bohm, who profoundly influenced his style with his
dramatic and moody compositions. In 1907 Ryder won an honorable
mention for Ce Que Rende La Mer
(That Which the Sea Gives Up), the figurative style of which is very
different from Ryder’s characteristic landscapes, which even
contemporaries recognized to be his usual style.
1907 was also an important year for Ryder when the prominent New York
art dealer, William Macbeth, began to represent him, selling the first
of Ryder’s works after only two months of partnership. This was a
lifelong business relationship, and Macbeth was responsible for the
marketing of Ryder’s painting style, as well as his works, hanging,
framing, and even titling the production that poured from Ryder's
studio. That fall Ryder moved to New York City and began to show his
work both in Paris and in New York, and finally in 1909 he opened a
studio in New York.
In 1910 Ryder began to travel through New England, the landscape of
which provided much of the subject matter for his work. He and his wife
bought “a little house and three acres in Wilton, New Hampshire,” and
for the rest of their lives, they split their time between New York
City in the winter months and New Hampshire in the spring and summer.
From their home in Wilton they traveled throughout New England, and
continued to do so until old age. From this point until the end
of his life, Ryder’s works gained great popularity due to his
consistently recognizable style, what is called his “Ryder green…that
was, in part, responsible for the pleasing quality and unique character
of his work,”. Shortly after the purchase of the New Hampshire
property, Ryder began to undertake lithographs, in addition to the
drypoints, etchings, drawings, and watercolors he already produced, at
the behest of Bolton Brown, one of the premier lithographers of his
time. These lithographs were shown alongside his paintings at
Macbeth’s gallery in New York.
Ryder died in 1949 in Wilton, New Hampshire. His work is known
today primarily through his oil painting, and it was known and
recognized at the time of his death for its “economy of line” (About
the Artist). In addition, however, “the unusual and vigorous
quality to his prints” (Chicago Society of Etchers) was also noted, and
the way his landscapes engaged the aesthetic of the abstract without
presenting abstract subject matter, in a time when the general public
was unsure about how to approach truly abstract art.
The bareness of his drypoints, in particular, is stunning; there is a
true feeling of his “unfailingly kind and gentle” (Memories of Chancey
and Mary Ryder), simple personality, and a deep sense of “the poetic
aspect of nature” (Peace and Plenty, 80) conveyed by his works.
“I paint by feeling,” (Peace and Plenty, 78) Ryder once said—and it is
this feeling that is given to the viewers when they see his prints and
paintings. With the exhibition and cataloguing of his graphic works
numbering more than two hundred drypoints and lithographs in
www.raisonne.org —half a century after his death— we hope that the
subtle, stark power of his landscape scenes will be given new
relevance, and that Ryder’s “wealth…[of] peace of mind” (Memories of
Chauncey and Mary Ryder) will give us some of our own.
Written and submitted by Diana Limbach and D. Roger Howlett, 2005
(Of particular interest to your audience is the appearance of the new,
free, Chauncey Ryder print raisonné at www.raisonne.org. D. Roger
Howlett, President, Childs Gallery, Boston)
SOURCES
About the Artist, publication unknown, from the artist's estate.
Swann, James. Text Accompaniment to "Road to Bristol." Chicago Society of Etchers,
1943.
Pisano, Ronald G., "Chauncey Foster Ryder: Peace and Plenty", Art and Antiques,
(September-October 1978), pp. 76-83.
Abbot, Elinor. "Memories of Chauncey and Mary Ryder," unpublished, from the artist's
estate.
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Biography from Pierce Galleries, Inc.:
| Chauncey F. Ryder (1868-1949) is an early 20th-century artist who
established his own unique style of post impressionism. He was a
painter, etcher, lithographer and illustrator who had studios in New
Haven, CT, Chicago, New York City and Wilton, NH.
He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago (c. 1891); Smith’s Art
Academy; Academie Julian, Paris with Jean Paul Laurens (1901) and with
Raphael Collins in Paris.
Ryder was an Associate (1915) and an Academician (1920) of the National
Academy and was an active member of the Salmagundi Club; National Arts
Club; Lotos Club; Allied Artists of America; American Water Color
Society; Chicago Society of Etchers and the New York Water Color Club.
His first major award came in 1907 at the Paris Salon and during his
career he won gold medals at the National Academy, American Water Color
Society, the National Arts Club; the New York Water Color Society, the
Baltimore Watercolor Society and many more. Ryder painted at Monhegan
Island, Paris, Wilton (NH), the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts, and
he painted gigantic, dynamic figural scenes of World War I throughout
Europe.
Ryder is represented in the permanent collections of over 50 museums,
including the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Art Institute of Chicago;
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art; Baltimore Museum of Art; Corcoran
Gallery of Art; National Portrait Gallery; National Academy of Design;
Carnegie Art Institute; Museum of Modern Art and more.
In 1978 Pierce Galleries, Inc. of Hingham, MA became the sole
representatives for Ryder's daughter, and in 1979 they publised the
brochure "Chauncey F. Ryder, N.A." that accompanied a retrospective
exhibition. Ryder is primarily known for his sparsely painted
expansive landscape in which few figures appear. For Ryder,
nature reigned supreme.
Patricia Jobe Pierce |
Biography from AskART:
| A painter noted for his landscapes that reflected both Impressionism
and Tonalism, Chauncey Ryder was also one of the more successful
painters associated with exhibitions at the Macbeth Gallery in New York
City. His paintings became popular with collectors "who were
drawn to paintings that inspired a reflective state of mind and who
admired Ryder's ability to achieve 'the right proportion between the
real and the unreal, between detail and vagueness.' " (Lowrey)
He grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, and in his 20s, moved to Chicago
where he was a student at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the art
school, Smith's Art Academy. He later was a teacher there.
In 1901, Chauncey Ryder enrolled in the Academie Julian in Paris where
he studied with Raphael Collin and Jean Paul Laurens. He
exhibited genre scenes in the Paris Salon, 1903-1906, and also painted
at the port town of Etaples, France with other American artists
including Max Bohm and Roy Brown.
In 1907, he returned to America, settling in New York City, and
three-years later became one of the Macbeth Gallery
artists. He also purchased a house in Wilton, New Hampshire
and began a routine of spending seven months of each year there, April
to November, and the remaining months in New York.
In 1910 and 1911, he painted and exhibited at Old Lyme, Connecticut, and did a panel, Winter Landscape,
for the home of Florence Griswold, a key person in that
community. In 1920, he was named Academician by the National
Academy of New York. He exhibited for over 30 years with the
American Watercolor Society.
Sources include:
Carol Lowrey, 'Chauncey Foster Ryder', The Poetic Vision: American Tonalism, p. 164 (Spanierman Galleries, LLC)
Ronald Pisano, American Art & Antiques, 10/1978, "Chauncey Foster Ryder Peace and Plenty."
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| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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Chauncey Ryder is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
Old Lyme Colony Painters
San Francisco Panama-Pacific Exhibition 1915
Tonalism
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