Academy, where Elihu Gifford, father of Sanford Robinson Gifford, was a trustee and where Sanford’s sister was a pupil. The exact relationship between Gifford and Ary is unclear, but they apparently went on sketching trips together in the Catskills, and the older painter was undoubtedly a major influence upon the young Sanford Gifford. Ary was also known to have been an instructor to the young John Bunyan Bristol.

Ary’s existing paintings document the scenery along the Hudson and in the Catskills. He was particularly fond of panoramic landscapes containing the town of Hudson and nearby Mount Merino. His panoramic landscapes are more invitingly picturesque than sublime and stress the evidences of man’s habitation. Ary exhibited during his life at the National Academy of Design and at the American Art Union in New York. He died early in 1859.

Work by Henry Ary can be found in the Brooklyn Museum, the Albany Institute, and the Hunter Museum of Art (Chattanooga).