Tom Ryan (1922-2011)


Starry Night signed, dated and inscribed 'Tom Ryan CA / © 1971' (lower right)oil on canvas24 x 36inPainted in 1971.
|ProvenanceCollection of Robert "Bobby" Hillin, Sr., Midland, Texas.Sale, Texas Art Gallery, Dallas, Texas, September 17, 1983, lot 42.Acquired by the late owner from the above.ExhibitedOklahoma City, Oklahoma, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Cowboy Artists of America: Sixth Annual Exhibition, June 12-September 10, 1971.Midland, Texas, Nita Stewart Haley Memorial Library, Tom Ryan Exhibition, July 3-10, 1991.LiteratureD. Hedgpeth, New Western Images: The Hillin Collection of the Cowboy Artists of America, Flagstaff, Arizona, 1978, p. 105, illustrated.S.H. McGarry, Honoring The Western Tradition: The L.D. "Brink" Brinkman Collection, Kerrville, Texas, 2003, p. 149, illustrated. Starry Night, was painted in Tom Ryan's studio in Lubbock, Texas, in 1971. In a letter to L.D. Brinkman, the artist recalled, "This oil was inspired by my memories of the nights when I was out with the chuck wagon on roundups, looking up at the stars. The immense expanse of the starry sky is overwhelming when viewed from your bedroll. From the West Texas plains, it's a gigantic site. The mind reflects on many things of a mysterious nature. Occasionally your thoughts are interrupted by the voices of coyotes. Our camps were in horse pastures and they would pass by during the night. A falling star catches your eye. And it's possible you would view a couple more falling stars before falling asleep."11 Tom Ryan, unpublished letter, 12 April 1990.