Henry Ary (1807-1859) was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and came to live in Hudson in 1844 when he was in his thirties. He painted in and around the towns of Hudson and Catskill for most of his career and lived here for the rest of his life. Ary began his career as a portrait painter in Albany, eventually painting two notable portraits of presidents George Washington and Martin van Buren. His portrait of George Washington still hangs in Hudson’s City Hall, while that of van Buren apparently incited riots in the 1830s when it was exhibited on the steamer South America. In 1833, Ary moved from Albany to Catskill where he met painter Thomas Cole and, inspired by the beauty of the Hudson Valley and encouraged by Cole, began painting landscape subjects. Ary taught painting at the Hudson Female Academy, located at 400 State Street, where Elihu Gifford, father of Sanford Gifford, was a trustee. Ary also instructed Hudson River School artist John Bunyan Bristol.