Education
He studied art under Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and under Frank Vincent DuMond at the Art Students League in New York City before completing his training in Paris.
He studied art under Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and under Frank Vincent DuMond at the Art Students League in New York City before completing his training in Paris.
Relyea was a native of Albany, New York, and spent most of his early years in Rochester. After returning to the United States, he made his home in New Rochelle, New New York His illustrations appeared in the children"s magazine Saint Nicholas, as well as magazines for broader audiences, such as Munsey"son
In 1897, a publishing house chose Relyea to illustrate The Rubáiyát of Doc Sifers, Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley"s poem satirizing The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
Because Relyea was not from Indiana, Riley insisted that he visit the state before making his drawings, to ensure that he would not misrepresent Indiana or caricature its residents.
