[1] New Bedford, a bustling whaling port during the 19th century, had an intimate connection with the sea that probably supplied artistic inspiration for Ryder later in life.

Ryder took his meals at this hostelry for many years, but it was named for the original owner, Albert Rosenbaum, not the painter.

[1] The Society was a loosely organized group whose work did not conform to the academic standards of the day, and its members included Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Robert Swain Gifford (also from New Bedford), Ryder's friend Julian Alden Weir, John LaFarge, and Alexander Helwig Wyant.

Ryder's signature style is characterized by broad, sometimes ill-defined shapes or stylized figures situated in a dream-like land or seascape.

His scenes are often illuminated by dim sunlight or glowing moonlight cast through eerie clouds.

For the rest of his life he spent his artistic energy on occasionally re-working existing paintings, some of which lay scattered about his New York apartment.

He gained a reputation as a loner, but he maintained social contacts, enjoyed writing letters, and continued to travel on occasion to visit friends.

[6] Artists whose work was influenced by Ryder include Marsden Hartley, who befriended him,[7] and Jackson Pollock.

[10][11] By these means, Ryder achieved a luminosity that his contemporaries admired—his works seemed to "glow with an inner radiance, like some minerals"—but the result was short-lived.

[10] Paintings by Ryder remain unstable and become much darker over time; they develop wide fissures, do not fully dry even after decades, and sometimes completely disintegrate.

They also claimed (as of 1989) that some remained in private and museum collections, in addition to being offered through art dealers and auction houses.

Forgeries can be discovered through visual and chemical examination, and through a provable provenance—a collection of written documentation detailing a painting's ownership history.