Albert Pinkham Ryder

Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847-1917), American painter, whose art depicts richly imaginative personal visions. He was born in the whaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and many of his works reflect an obsession with the sea. About 1870 he settled in New York City, where he studied briefly at the National Academy of Design. Despite this experience and several brief trips to Europe, his romantic, mystical style remained unaffected by outside influences. His technique involved thick applications of several coats of paint that were not allowed proper time to dry, topped by heavy coats of varnish. For this reason, many of his paintings have deteriorated badly.

Ryder led a reclusive life and worked painstakingly, often repainting a composition many times. Thus, his works, which total about 160 canvases, are difficult to date. Ryder's landscapes and seascapes include Toilers of the Sea (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City) and The Race Track, also called Death on a Pale Horse (Cleveland Museum of Art). Later, he turned to painting scenes based on biblical stories or subjects from the works of English playwright William Shakespeare—as in Jonah (National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C.) and Macbeth and the Witches (Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.). Although small, Ryder's paintings are notable for their luminosity and the balanced composition of forms and subtle, monochromatic masses.