Rufus Dryer

American (1880-1937)

Born in Rochester, New York in 1880, Rufus J. Dryer moved to New York City in 1901, where he studied with Robert Henri. Dryer traveled with Henri’s class to Spain and by 1910, had settled in Paris, where he lived and maintained a studio for more than twenty years. Dryer’s early work in Paris was cubist influenced, but by the 1920’s he had reverted to a post-impressionist style, painting a range of landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. In 1934, Dryer left Paris permanently and moved to his family home in Geneva, New York, where he lived and painted until his death in 1937.

Dryer exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art, Salon d’Automne, Salon des Tuilleries, and the Salon des Independents. Dryer was the subject of a posthumous retrospective exhibition at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester in 1937, organized by friend and fellow Henri student, Kathleen McEnery Cunningham.