American painter, born in Wakefield, MA. Ripley attended Fenway School of Illustration despite being a talented musician. After having served in the army during World War I, he studied under Philip Hale and Frank Benson at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School. He won a fellowship in 1942 and traveled to France, Holland and North Africa for two years. In his travels, he began experimenting with watercolor and explored plein-air painting. Ripley traveled along the East Coast in 1926, painting landscapes and commissions. He settled in Lexington, MA in the 1930s. His works were exhibited at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the National Academy of Design and many others.