July 9, 2007 - Antiques And The Arts Weekly

  • Forging An American Identity The Art Of William Ranney
    July 9, 2007

    A gifted American storyteller in paint, William Tylee Ranney (1813-1856) depicted mythic heroes of his time †soldiers, pioneers, trapper, hunters †as exemplars of courage and independence. At a time when the country struggled for national unity and a sense of American identity, Ranney offered an inspiring interpretation of the history, character and future of the United States and its people. Regarded as an important yet underappreciated American artist, his relative obscurity is due in part to the brevity of his career †he painted for little more than a decade, dying of tuberculosis at age 44. Some 60 works comprise ⁆orging an American Identity: The Art of William Ranney,†on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through August 19. The exhibition organizers argue that, ⁔aken together, Ranney⁳ paintings present a portrait of early American life and westward expansion while at the same time evoking a mythology that vividly reflected the artist⁳ time and place. 



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