Rinehart was born in Lodi, Illinois. In 1878 he traveled to Denver and probably worked as a photographer for the railroad. In 1885 he moved to Omaha, Nebraska and established a successful portrait studio. He was the official photographer for the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition of 1898 in Omaha. This was also the meeting of the U.S. Indian Congress. His portraits of the Native American representatives brought him fame and success. From 1899 to 1900 he traveled to the Reservations to photograph those Native Americans that were unable to attend the congress. Some of these photographs were made into paintings and later into lithographs for sale. Rinehart died in New Haven, Connecticut in 1928.