James Gale Tyler (1855 – 1931)
One of America’s foremost marine artists, James Gale Tyler captured on canvas a variety of ships, yachts, seamen and coastal scenes. Born in Oswego, New York in 1855, Tyler was mostly a self-taught artist, but in 1870, studied briefly with marine artist Archibald Cary Smith (1837-1911). Tyler worked in New York and Providence, Rhode Island in the mid 1880s-1890s, but it was Connecticut where he primarily worked and lived from 1870 until his death in 1931 at Pelham, New York.
In addition to other marine scenes, Tyler painted every America’s cup race from 1900 to 1930. The artist was a member of the Brooklyn Art Club, Artists Fund Society, Greenwich Society of Artists and the Salmagundi Club. He regularly exhibited at the National Academy, Boston Art Club, Brooklyn Art Association, and other prominent venues. His works are held in many museums and private collections. Tyler’s paintings are effused with subtle effects of light, vibrant color, and careful detail. It is for these reasons that Tyler’s paintings were extremely popular during his lifetime and continue to be popular today.
Information courtesy of Charlton Hall Galleries, February 2007