William Ranney Born in Middletown, Connecticut, he devoted his career to depicting the West. As a young man, he apprenticed to a tinsmith in Fayetteville, North Carolina, having abandoned his study of art in New York City after the death of his sea-captain father. To find adventure, he joined in 1836 the Texas army in its fight for independence against Mexico, and this period, very brief, was his only experience on the frontier. Following this, he returned to Brooklyn where he lived, working in and around New York City for the next ten years. In 1853, he moved his family to West Hoboken, New Jersey and built a studio large enough for animals including horses. The walls were decorated with western items such as saddles, guns and swords. His paintings included portraits and romanticized Revolutionary War history paintings and focused on pioneers, trappers, and scouts, especially Daniel Boone, opening up the frontier. He also did numerous hunting scenes from the New Jersey marshes. He was popular among his fellow artists, and after his death his fellow members of the National Academy had a memorial show to raise funds for his widow.

Biography with permission from AskArt.com

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