A painter of portraits, historical, religious and genre scenes, he is known to have lived in St. Louis, Missouri from circa 1855 to circa 1895. His historical work called “And the Colored Troups Fought Nobly” was shown at the National Academy of Design in 1867. The Missouri Historical Society owns his portrait of Dred Scott, a slave who made history by suing for his freedom in 1856.
Beginning in the 1860s, he also became known for his landscapes in watercolor and oil of views of Missouri, southern Illinois, the Western U.S., as well as Switzerland and Tyrol.