BACK WHEN: Like a rolling stone: Cryderman paints the Olympic Peninsula

Published 1:30 am Saturday, May 2, 2026

THERE ARE SO many paths our lives can take. Some like life to be quiet and steady. Others set their sails and follow the wind.

In the 1800s, the United States had many itinerant painters These artists would travel from town to town trading portraits, sign painting and murals for food and lodging.

One thing about itinerant painters. They did not leave much information about themselves. It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine where they were born. Who were their parents? When did they die? They may not even show up on census records.

M. D. Cryderman was such an artist who was on the North Olympic Peninsula for less than two years. Painting was his life. If you wanted a scenic landscape to hang on your wall, M. D. Cryderman was your man. Need your house or business painted? Cryderman was your man. Need a sign for your business? Cryderman was your man.

It is also evident that he did not care about the spelling of his name. Sometimes you find Cryderman. Sometimes it is Criderman. He always used his initials. I could not find any record of what his full name was.

The evidence indicates that M. D. Cryderman led a very nomadic life. Did work guide his path? Or was it wanderlust? I do not know.

In 1878, The Butte Weekly Miner (Butte, Mont.) posted a list of people needing to pick up letters. The names included M. Cryderman and M. D. Criderman. These lists notified residents of unclaimed mail waiting at the Post Office. We may think of it today as General Delivery.

In 1879, Criderman is listed as an artist in Butte, Mont.

In 1882, Cryderman was in Ketchum, Idaho. He was occupying the former Keystone Chop Shop, where he had completed several large paintings.

In 1883, Cryderman is still in Ketchum, Idaho. He advertised himself as a house and sign painter. M.D. Criderman also gave an essay on painting at a school program.

In 1884, The Wood River Times (Hailey, Idaho) posted a list of people needing to pick up letters. The list included M. D. Cryderman.

Cryderman was in Missoula, Mont. in 1887.

He advertised his work as House and sign painting, kalsomining (whitewashing) and paper hanging. He also stated that scene and sign work was a specialty.

Cryderman was open to any kind of painting, “all the way from landscape to the most common kind of work.” He painted a new sign for Missoula’s City Meat Market.

In 1888, Cryderman was in Burke, Idaho, painting backdrops for a Burlesque theater. Cryderman showed up later that year in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

It appears that Cryderman moved to Port Crescent (in Clallam County, Washington) sometime in 1889 or 1890. Cryderman likely painted houses and made landscapes in exchange for room and board.

In Feb. 1891, Cryderman was selected to be on a coroner’s jury.

On Feb. 12, 1891, John Fielding was found dead on the road leading to his Lyre River ranch. The jury’s verdict was that Fielding died from the effects of intoxication and exposure. In other words, he fell while intoxicated, could not get up, and died from exposure (hypothermia). The County paid Cryderman $2.50 ($80 today) for his service.

Cryderman’s was a respected artist, and he was part of the Port Crescent community.

Once, Cryderman became the source of some local humor. The Feb. 26, 1891, edition of the Port Crescent Leader noted the following story: “Artist M. D. Cryderman is developing into a full-blown hunter. He was out chasing deer Tuesday, and after putting in a good many hours on the trail, he succeeded in getting a fine shot at a big buck, and — well, the buck is still at liberty.”

In March 1891, the County paid Cryderman $8.75 ($300 today) for painting and varnishing.

Cryderman spent much of the winter painting. That would involve hiking into remote areas and making sketches. By March 1891, Cryderman had five large oil paintings of local scenery. Cryderman brought them into Port Angeles to be sold.

The March 26, 1891, edition of the Olympic Leader noted: “Mr. Cryderman is a scenic painter of considerable repute and brought with him five large oil paintings of scenery in this portion of the county, which he succeeded in disposing of in a short time and at very satisfactory prices. He proposes to return here shortly and cast his lot with us, and also contemplates making an oil painting, of large dimension, of Port Angeles viewed from the lighthouse spit.”

Two of the five paintings mentioned may still exist. One is titled, “Hunters Paradise on the Solduck River – Olympic Mountains”. The other is titled, “Exploration of the Olympic Mountains- Mount Olympus Back of Port Angeles.”

Cryderman moved to Port Angeles and had steady work. In July, he painted a sign for the Clallam County Abstract and Investment Company. In August, he and a man named Maxwell were painting a large sign on the Greenleaf Hotel. Also, in August, Cryderman was painting a drop curtain for the opera house.

As late as November, Clallam County paid Cryderman $18.00 ($650 today) for painting at the courthouse.

It seems that wanderlust struck again. In early 1892, Cryderman moved on to Everett. On March 19, 1892, an advertisement appeared in The Everett News. He advertised sign and scenic painting, specializing in local landscapes.

This brings me to the point where I pondered the nomadic lifestyle of Cryderman.

Did he simply want to see as much of the world as he could? But what about missed opportunities? Did he know what he may have missed in 1892?

In 1892, the ladies of Port Angeles formed the Ladies World’s Fair Club. They wanted Port Angeles represented in the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

Gustave Kalling was in Port Angeles giving painting lessons. Later, the Ladies World’s Fair Club commissioned Kalling to paint a view of Port Angeles to be displayed in the World’s Fair. Kalling created a masterpiece which was displayed at the fair. It currently hangs in the Old Clallam County Courthouse.

I am left pondering the possibilities. What if Cryderman stayed here and was commissioned to create that painting? What might that have done to his career? Would a Cryderman painting be hanging today in our courthouse?

After Everett, Cryderman was back in Idaho and Montana. He also was painting in the Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada.

The old proverb says, “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” Well, I like moss.

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John McNutt is a descendant of Clallam County pioneers and treasurer of the North Olympic History Center Board of Directors. He can be reached at woodrowsilly@gmail.com. John’s Clallam history column appears the first Saturday of every month.