llustrator, wood engraver, etcher and painter Edmund Henry Garrett was born in Albany, New York. Little is known of his early art training, but he settled in Boston, where he became a leading member of both the Boston Art Club and the Copley Society of Art, forming a friendship with impressionist Childe Hassam, with whom he toured Europe for advanced training in 1883, studying with Boulanger and Laurens at the Academié Julian in Paris. His interest in etching was nurtured by R. Swain Gifford, who advised him during his development of technical expertise in the etcher’s craft.

Garrett was in high demand as an illustrator for several Boston publishers and in addition produced etchings, paintings, and watercolors. During the late 19th Century, his work was widely exhibited throughout the United States and at the Paris Salon. The Art Institute of Chicago, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Boston Public Library, and Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco among many such venues. He died at Needham, Massachusetts.