author
Henry Rankin Poore
1859–1940
An American painter, illustrator, and art writer, he was known for lively landscapes and genre scenes that often included people and animals. He also wrote widely on composition and criticism, bringing a teacher’s eye to both his art and his books.
1 Audiobook
Pictorial Composition and the Critical Judgment of Pictures
by Henry Rankin Poore
About the author
Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1859, Henry Rankin Poore grew up partly in California and later studied art in New York and Philadelphia. He became known as a painter and illustrator whose work ranged from landscapes and sporting scenes to animal subjects and genre pictures.
Poore was active not only as an artist but also as a lecturer, critic, and author. He published books on art and composition, helping explain how pictures are built and judged, and he developed a reputation as a thoughtful, conservative voice in discussions of American art.
He was associated with the art colony at Old Lyme, Connecticut, where his work took on softer, more atmospheric landscape qualities. Poore continued working and writing into the early twentieth century, and he died in 1940.