William McKendree Snyder (1848-1930)
William McKendree Snyder was born in Liberty, Indiana, served as a drummer boy in the Civil War, and allegedly survived the Andersonville prison camp. He studied under J. Insco Williams in Cincinnati, and then under Albert Bierstadt and George Innes when he moved east and studied in New York and Philadelphia. He spent most of his career in Madison, Indiana, which is in the extreme southern portion of the state, on the Ohio River. Early in his career, he painted figures, portraits, and literary subjects, but he later abandoned all but landscapes. He typically chose local subjects, and was well known for his early landscapes of Brown County, Indiana. His style was distinctive, incredibly detailed and influenced by the Hudson River painters.
Information courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.