Sold at Auction: Dwight William Tyron

(b Hartford, CT, 1849; d South Dartmouth, MA, 1925) American Painter. Dwight William Tryon had no formal training when he began his artistic career. He created landscapes in the Barbizon style. After successfully selling a number of works he traveled to Paris where he studied at the Ecole des beaux arts. Upon his return to the United States Tryon began teaching and painting in New York City. In 1887 he purchased a summer home in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts; South Dartmouth would become Tryon’s permanent home and its seaside location would inspire his most iconic tonalist seascapes. In this period Tryon’s style came to its full maturity, produing landscapes with muted, rosy hues and atmospheric skies. In 1889 Tryon come to the attention of Charles Lang Freer, a wealthy industrialist who would become his most important patron. In addition to his own work as a painter, Tryon also taught at Smith College for thirty-eight years, ultimately establishing the Tryon Gallery of Art there.