(1872-1943) H.A. Dyer was one of Providence's most charismatic art figures. Like his lifelong friend, artist Sydney Burleigh, Dyer had a long and close association with the Providence Art Club, which he joined following college in 1895. From 1905 to 1914 he was Club president and the life of its irreverent Friday evening gatherings, earning a reputation as a wit and raconteur. Dyer studied in Holland and France and throughout his life remained an avid traveler. He spent at least five months of the year in Europe with his family, recording his travels in oil and watercolor paintings. While some of his paintings show the influence of Art Nouveau, and though he fostered new forms of expression (such as Impressionism) within the Art Club, Dyer's style remained true to the classical canons of art. Dyer was active in the Providence Water Color Club, the Boston Society of Water Color Painters, and the Newport Art Association. In Europe, he was named Commendatore of the Crown of Italy and Cavaliere of the Order of Sts. Maurice and Lazarus. Dyer exhibited at the Providence and Boston Art Clubs, and was a lecturer at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. His daughter Nancy became a successful painter, ceramicist, and sculptor.

Biography courtesy of Roger King Gallery of Fine Art, www.antiquesandfineart.com/rking