Clyde Forsythe was born in Orange, California on August 24, 1885. He spent his youth on a ranch in the Coachella Valley. Forsythe was a pupil of the Los Angeles School of Art & Design under Louis Garden MacLeod, and in 1904, painted his first western landscape while on a train from California to New York. He further studied with Frank V. DuMond at the Art Students League while working as a staff artist for the New York World. While in New York, he became nationally famous as the creator of cartoons and comic strips such as 'Way Out West' and 'Vic.' During World War I he painted many war posters including the 'And They Thought We Couldn't Fight.' Forsythe introduced an unknown artist named Norman Rockwell to Saturday Evening Post and was a close friend of Frank Tenney Johnson. Having gained financial success, in 1920 he and Johnson moved to Alhambra, California where they shared a studio. They established the Biltmore Gallery in Los Angeles due to the success of their works. After returning to California, Forsythe immersed himself in the lore of the West and often lived in ghost towns while on painting trips. His subjects included desert scenes with prospectors, and Indian genre. Forsythe died on May 24, 1962 in Pasadena.

Biography courtesy of DeRu's Fine Arts, www.antiquesandfineart.com/derus