Born in France around 1810, Adolph Rinck became a portrait and miniature painter, an art teacher of painting and drawing, and a sketch artist. He emigrated to America, settling in 1840 in New Orleans, likely as a result of his friendship with Joseph Vaudechamp, whom he mentioned in his portrait advertisements. His studio locations varied: corner of St. Anthony's Square (1842), Bourbon Street (1846) and Place d'Armes (1850-1851), where his wife, Margarette, opened a shop. Among his miniature portrait subjects was John Woodhouse Audubon.

Excepting perhaps some of the Civil War years, he stayed in that city during the winters until 1871, having arrived with good credentials that included studies in Berlin at the Royal Academy, and in Paris with Paul Delaroche. In Paris, between 1835 and 1840, he had exhibited at the Paris Salon.

His travels from New Orleans in the summers included an 1851 trip to Brazil, and portraits by him have been located in Norwich, Connecticut, suggesting he may have traveled there as well.

In 1859, he bought a farm in Algiers, Louisiana so that he could pursue scientific agriculture. He wrote a brochure on his ideas for a model farm, and proposed an idea for an agricultural school where the subject could be taught scientifically along with the arts and humanities.

On February, 17, 1871, Adolph Rinck placed his last ad in New Orleans, and a portrait from the city indicates he was still there one-year later. In 1873, he exhibited work in New York City at the National Academy of Design. Beyond that information, little is known about the remainder of his life.


Source:
John A. Mahe II and Rosanne McCaffrey, Encyclopaedia of New Orleans Artists 1718-1918, pp. 325-326
Peter Hastings Falk, Who Was Who in American Art