William Tylee Ranney (May 9, 1813 – November 18, 1857) was an American painter, known for his depictions of Western life, sporting scenery, historical subjects and portraiture.

In 1826, at the age of 13, he moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina, to live with his maternal uncle, merchant William Nott, and be apprenticed as a tinsmith.

Ranney was reportedly in the guard placed over Mexican President Santa Anna following his capture at the Battle of San Jacinto.

[1][2][3] It included a two-story, glassed-in studio, and a stable for horses that Ranney, an avid horseback rider, painted in many of his works.

Henry T. Tuckerman, in his Book of the Artists, described Ranney's studio thus: It was so constructed as to receive animals; guns, pistols, and cutlasses hung on the walls; and these, with curious saddles and primitive riding gear, might lead a visitor to imagine he had entered a pioneer's cabin or border chieftain's hut; such an idea would, however, have been once dispelled by glance at the many sketches and studies which proclaimed that an artist, and not a bushranger, had here found a home.

[1]Ranney was a regular contributor and an associate member of the National Academy of Design and the American Art Union, both based in New York.

By 1846, his work began to show the influences of his experiences in Texas, including frontier backdrops depicting the Rocky Mountains.

Among these are The Old Oaken Bucket, The Match Boy, Prairie Burial, Scouting Party, Hunting Wild Horses and Trapper's Last Shot, which are straightforward presentations of everyday subjects, lacking overt sentiment.

The appeal of Ranney's painting lies in its convincing portrayal of the alert, poised hunter and the tense, crouching boy and dog, all motionless, yet charged with potential energy.

Ranney's funeral took place at Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Hoboken, and was attended by fellow painter Charles Loring Elliott.

Friend and patron, noted New York attorney James T. Brady gave a lecture on American art to help defray expenses of the Exhibition.

[2][8] On September 18, 2010, Union City, New Jersey dedicated a historical marker identifying the site of Ranney's former estate at 1215 Palisade Avenue.