Blakelock, Ralph

Blakelock, Ralph

(born Oct. 15, 1847, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Aug. 9, 1919, near Elizabethtown, N.Y.) U.S. painter. A self-taught artist, he developed a highly original and subjective style of landscape painting, characterized by luminous impasto images of moonlit scenes with nocturnal lighting and strangely dappled trees and foliage. Neglected by the public and constantly under the strain of poverty, he suffered a breakdown in 1899, ceased to paint, and spent the rest of his life in an asylum. During his confinement he achieved some fame, and forgeries of his work became common as his popularity rose.

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Blakelock, Ralph (Albert) (1847–1919) painter; born in New York City. He studied medicine but became a landscape painter during the 1860s. He was committed to an insane asylum in 1899. After his release (1916), he never painted again. His moody and evocative pictures, such as Indian Encampment (c. 1870), and Moonlight (1886) have ensured his reputation.