Edmondson was born in Dayton, OH in 1830 and had a studio in there by 1859. Failing health forced him to seek the milder climate of California about 1870. He was painting with Henry Chapman Ford in Santa Barbara by 1880, moved to San Francisco in 1882, and then to Santa Rosa where he died in 1884. A still-life specialist, he also painted landscapes, portraits, coastal scenes, and missions.
