John Ross Key [1837-1920]
United States
Resting cows, ca.1870s
Charcoal on paper
18 x 28 inches
Signed at lower left : ‘John R Key’.

John Ross Key (1837-1920) biography:

Birth: July 16, 1837 in Hagerstown, MD ;
Death: March 24, 1920 in Baltimore, MD ;
Sex: Male ;
Ethnicity: White ;
Zodiac: Cancer ;

Known for: Landscape painting ;
Medium: Oil ; charcoal & paper ;
Technique: Painting ; drawing ; chromolithographs (1870s) ;
Subjects: Cities ; natural wonders ;

Areas: Hagerstown, MD (1837) ; Baltimore, MD (1867-1868, 1917-1920) ; Charleston, SC (1863) ; New York, NY (1866) ; Northern CA (1860s-1872) ; San Francisco, CA (1869) ; Yosemite, CA ; Carmel, CA ; Lake Tahoe, CA ; Munich, Germany (1873-1875) ; Paris, France (1873-1875) ; Boston, MA (1877-1878) ; Stockbridge, MA (1879) ; Chicago, IL ; St. Louis, MO ; Washington, DC (1908-1917) ;
Region: Mid-Atlantic ;
Lived: St. Julian Hotel, New York, NY (1866) ; 32 Franklin Street, Baltimore, MD (1867-1868) ; Boston, MA (1878) ; Stockbridge, MA (1879) ; 1730 St Paul Street, Baltimore, MD (1920) ;
Father: John Ross Key, II (1809-1837) ;
Mother: Virginia (Ringgold) Key (?-?) ;
Relatives:
Spouse: Eleanore Elizabeth (Dutcher) Key (1872-1930), wife, married 1902 ;
Children: 

Training: National Academy of Design, New York, NY (1856-1857) ; Munich, Germany ; Paris, France ;
Instructors:
Work: United States Coast Survey, draftsman (1853-1856), served alongside Gilbert Munger (1837-1903) and James Abbot McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) ; Federal Corp of Engineers, Charleston, SC, artistic record of the Federal siege of that Confederate city (1863-1865) ;

Taught:
Students:

Member: Society of Washington Artists, Washington, DC ; Boston Art Club, Boston, MA ; San Francisco Art Association, San Francisco, CA ;
Exhibited with: Salmagundi Club, New York, NY (1878-1879) ; National Academy of Design, New York, NY (1866-1868, 1878-1879) ; Boston Art Club, Boston, MA (1873, 1875-1878) ; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA ; Boston Athenaeum, Boston, MA ; Mechanics Institute, San Francisco, CA (1870) ; Corcoran Gallery, Washington, DC (1908) ; Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY (1917) ; San Francisco Art Association, San Francisco, CA (1872) ; Centennial Expo, Philadelphia, PA (1876) ;
Awards: Centennial Expo, Philadelphia, PA, gold medal (1876) ;

Milestones: Grandson of Francis Ford Key, writer of the Star Spangled Banner, America’s National Anthem ;

Notes: