Pines in the Valley

Ryder grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, but while in his twenties moved to Chicago, where he found work as an illustrator and attended classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. By the turn of the century, Ryder had traveled to Paris and enrolled at the Académie Julian and later exhibited works at the Paris Salon.

Upon returning to the States in 1907, the artist established himself in New York City and soon purchased a house in Wilton, New Hampshire where he summered each year.

By the 1920s it was observed that “noticeable in all his paintings is the simplicity and balance of his composition—a harmony of colors in which there is no disturbing note—a delicate adjustment—of strength and tenderness.” Pines in the Valley expertly fuses the muted light, restrained color range, simplified forms, and unassuming subject matter of impressionist paintings.