William Ranney

William Ranney painted the American frontier: trappers, hunters, scouts and pioneers, set against wide prairies and mountains. His scenes are lively and full of narrative, painted with a clear sense of outdoor light.

Born in Middletown, Connecticut, he worked as a tinsmith in North Carolina before studying art in New York. In 1836 he went to Texas and served in the Texas army, and that experience of the West stayed with him. He set up a studio in New York and later West Hoboken, New Jersey, painting western, sporting and historical subjects. He produced about 150 paintings before his death at 44.

Boone’s First View of Kentucky and Advice on the Prairie show his taste for storytelling in open country.