Edward Troye (12 July 1808 - 25 July 1874), was a Swiss-born American painter of

Thoroughbred horse The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distan ...

Early life and background

Troye was born on July 12, 1808 in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Travels

At age 20 he emigrated to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, and later on to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

where he was an employed artist of ''

Sartain's Magazine John Sartain (October 24, 1808 – October 25, 1897) was an English-born American artist who pioneered mezzotint engraving in the United States. Biography John Sartain was born in London, England. He learned line engraving, and produced several o ...

''.

Career as painter

Life in Kentucky

On July 16, 1839, Troye married Corneila Van de Graff of

Scott County, Kentucky Scott County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,155. Scott County is part of the Lexington–Fayette, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Native Amer ...

, and settled in Central Kentucky where he lived for the next 35 years. While living in Kentucky, Troye painted portraits and

race horse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

s for the local families in

Georgetown, Kentucky Georgetown is a home rule-class city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 37,086 at the 2020 census. It is the 6th-largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the seat of its county. It was originall ...

. He worked primarily for the Steele and Alexander families, and Alexander "Keene" Richards. Troye taught French and drawing at

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private, Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the ...

, 1849-1855.

Later travels and move to Alabama

Later he and Richards traveled to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

where he painted horses,

Damascus, Syria )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

cattle, the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...

and the bazaar of Damascus while Richards bought Arabian horses. Bethany College,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

retains copies of some of these paintings. In 1869, Troye moved his family to a cotton plantation in

Madison County, Alabama Madison County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 388,153, making it the third-most populous county in Alabama. Its county seat is Huntsville. Since the mid-20th centu ...

. Troye returned to Kentucky and resided at the home of longtime friend Keen Richards until his death from pneumonia on July 25, 1874.

Death and legacy

Troye's best works, between the years 1835 and 1874 (prior to the birth of photography), are true-to-life delineations of historical American

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

horses. He painted Southern United States pre-

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

thoroughbreds. Little was known of Troye's work in the eastern United States until 1912. Since then, more than 300 of his paintings have been found, of which three-fourths have been photographed since 1912. In addition, he is the author of ''The Race Horses of America (1867)''. Troye is buried in Georgetown Cemetery with his wife and grandson, Clarence D. Johnson.

Notable horse paintings

Self Portrait in a Carriage Edward Troye

* American Eclipse and Sir Henry *Bertrand *Black Maria *

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and his son, Lexington *

Glencoe I Glencoe (1831–1857) was a Great Britain, British bred Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse, who won the 2,000 Guineas Stakes and the Ascot Gold Cup. He was one of the earliest Thoroughbred stallions imported into the United States and was a top ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

*Lecomte *Leviathan *Longfellow *Ophelia - dam of Gray Eagle *Reality *

Reel A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the en ...

*Revenue *Richard Singleton * Ruthless *Wagner * West Australian

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troye, Edward 1808 births 1874 deaths Artists from Geneva Artists from Philadelphia People from Scott County, Kentucky 19th-century American painters American male painters 19th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters Painters from Kentucky Spring Hill College alumni Swiss emigrants to the United States 19th-century American male artists 19th-century Swiss male artists