John Ross Key (artist)

John Ross Key (16 July 1832, Hagerstown, Maryland – 24 March 1920, Baltimore) was an American artist most known for his frontier landscapes.

[2] From 1853 to 1856, Key was a draughtsman and map maker for the US Coast Survey in Washington, D.C.[1] In 1859, he was a cartographer working for the Lander Expedition where he drew trails of Nevada and Wyoming.

[2] In 1863, Key was commissioned as second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers at Charleston, where he recorded the federal siege in his paintings.

[3] In 1869, Key moved to the East Coast and became a member of the Society of Washington Artists and the Boston Art Club.

[5] In 1876, his painting "The Golden Gate, San Francisco" won a gold medal in the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.