While Ralph Albert Blakelock (1847-1919) appears in every major survey of American art, no current books exist on his life and work. In this comprehensive study, Abraham Davidson argues convincingly that Blakelock is one of the greatest American painters of the nineteenth century, whose art ranges from the "romantic visionary" school reminiscent of Albert Pinkham Ryder to, later in his tragic life, a more realistic, physically experimental style often touching on abstraction.

Davidson examines the haunting influences of Blakelock's visits to the American West and the Caribbean while a young man, reflected in his strikingly original landscapes. He also explores Blakelock's connections to various American movements, including the Hudson River School, the Barbizon School, and Tonalism, and discusses the works he produced while institutionalized for schizophrenia for much of the last twenty years of his life.

More than 150 black-and-white and color illustrations reproduce many of Blakelock's paintings for the first time. Drawing upon previously inaccessible biographical materials, including family letters and the artist's travel notes, Davidson pays special attention to the pre- and post-1880s and 1890s periods of Blakelock's work, practically unknown until this study.