Anne Ryan

Key facts

Lived

1889–1954, American^[1]

Movement

• Abstract Expressionism

^[1]

Works held in

4 museums

Wikipedia

View article

Plan your visit to see Anne Ryan →

• What is Anne Ryan known for?+

  Anne Ryan is known for her collage work, which she began creating at the age of 57 after seeing Kurt Schwitters' collages. Over the next six years, she made more than 400 collages, often using materials such as silk, netting, handmade rag paper, and Japanese Washi paper.
• What is Anne Ryan's most famous work?+

  It is difficult to name one single work as Anne Ryan's "most famous". Her career was relatively short, and her work is not as widely known as that of some of her contemporaries. Ryan is best known for her small-scale, abstract collages. These pieces, often no more than a few inches in either direction, are composed of found papers, fabrics, and threads. She used materials such as Japanese papers, scraps of old letters, and remnants of textiles. These collages are characterised by their subtle colour palettes, delicate textures, and intimate scale. Although she exhibited at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century gallery during the 1940s, her work only gained wider recognition after her death in 1954^[1]. Since then, numerous exhibitions have presented her collages, and they are now held in the collections of major museums. However, due to the nature of collage, and the variability of her output, no single piece has achieved the status of a signature work.
• What should I know about Anne Ryan's prints?+

  Anne Ryan (1887-1954^[1]) was an American^[1] artist primarily known for her abstract collages. While she is not as widely recognised for printmaking, it is an important, if lesser-known, aspect of her artistic output. Original prints are produced by hand by the artist. The work is conceived specifically to be a print; the artist creates the artwork directly on the plate, woodblock, stone, or screen. Each print in the edition is considered an original. Ryan's prints, like her collages, often display a delicate sensibility and a careful attention to composition. Prints are more closely related to the book in terms of expression; reading the artist's thoughts and dreams. When assessing a print, consider whether it is an original print or a reproduction. An original print is conceived by the artist as a print and executed solely as a print, usually in a numbered edition and signed by the artist. Each print in the edition is an original, printed from a plate, stone, screen, block or other matrix created for that purpose. There is no one original print from which copies are made.
• What style or movement did Anne Ryan belong to?+

  Anne Ryan is associated with Abstract Expressionism^[1], an American^[1] art movement that gained international recognition in the 1940s. Originally called the "New York School", Abstract Expressionism is linked to artists such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Abstract Expressionists worked spontaneously, sometimes using what is called Action Painting. This approach valued gesture and intuition, dispensing with preparatory drawings in favour of marks, shapes, and colours emerging from the subconscious. Although male artists are often more closely associated with Abstract Expressionism, many women artists also worked in the style. These included Alma Thomas, Perle Fine, Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler. These women often faced marginalisation and a lack of solo exhibitions, but they created bold works using a range of materials and methods including paint, printmaking, collage, and sculpture.
• What techniques or materials did Anne Ryan use?+

  Anne Ryan is best known for her small abstract collages. She began making these in 1948^[1], relatively late in her artistic career. Ryan used found papers and fabrics. These included papers from printed ephemera, such as old letters, discarded packaging, and book pages. Her fabrics were equally humble: scraps of cotton, linen, and silk from various sources. She employed a simple construction method. Ryan layered and arranged these materials, then adhered them to a support, often a piece of cardboard. The scale of Ryan's collages is notable. Many are only a few inches in either dimension. This small size creates a sense of intimacy. It also focuses attention on the textures and subtle colour variations within the work. Her approach was intuitive and improvisational. Ryan allowed the materials themselves to guide the composition. The artist's work stands in contrast to the large scale of much mid-century abstract painting. Her collages offer a quiet, personal form of abstraction.
• What was Anne Ryan known for?+

  Anne Ryan (1887-1954^[1]) was an American^[1] artist, best known for her small, abstract collages. She began her artistic career relatively late in life, after working as a writer and poet. Ryan's move towards visual art started in the late 1930s, when she studied with Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17 in New York. Initially, she focused on woodcuts and prints. However, in 1948^[1], she encountered Kurt Schwitters's work, which inspired her to explore collage. Ryan's collages are characterised by their modest scale and use of materials. She often incorporated discarded fabrics, papers, and threads into her compositions, creating subtle textures and tonal variations. These works are abstract; however, they evoke a sense of quiet contemplation. Although Ryan's career as a collage artist was brief, lasting only about six years, she produced over 400 collages during this period. Her work has been exhibited in various museums and galleries, securing her place in the history of American abstract art.
• Where can I see Anne Ryan's work?+

  Anne Ryan's work can be viewed in several public collections in the United States. The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., holds a number of her small abstract collages. These pieces often incorporate found papers and fabrics. The Brooklyn Museum also possesses examples of Ryan's work. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City includes her pieces in its collection, providing another opportunity to view her art. For those interested in a more regional focus, the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut, features Ryan's work. These institutions allow the public to engage with her distinctive approach to collage and abstraction. Checking the institutions' websites ahead of a visit is advisable, as artworks on display can change.
• Where was Anne Ryan from?+

  Anne Ryan was an American^[1] artist, born in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1889^[1]. Her early life was marked by a diverse range of interests; she wrote poetry and short stories, and she was involved in political activism. Ryan did not begin making visual art until later in life. In 1941^[1], she studied with Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17, a New York printmaking workshop. There, she learned engraving, etching, and other techniques. It was after this experience that Ryan began to create the small, abstract collages for which she is best known. She used discarded scraps of fabric, paper, and thread to construct her compositions. These works were often small in scale, and they possessed a delicate, intimate quality. Ryan's work gained recognition in the New York art world during the 1940s and 1950s. She exhibited at galleries such as the Betty Parsons Gallery. Although her career was relatively short, ending with her death in 1954^[1], Ryan made a contribution to the development of collage as a fine art form.
• Who did Anne Ryan influence?+

  Information regarding Anne Ryan's influence on other artists is scarce in the provided texts. However, the passages do discuss artists who influenced others, and the artistic movements of the time. For example, Jack Youngerman was influenced by Albert Pinkham Ryder, Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, and Georgia O'Keeffe. These artists shared a vision that transcended nature, without entirely relinquishing its outward forms. O'Keeffe provided Youngerman with a distinctly American^[1] precedent for the organic imagery, form, volume, and colour he had earlier admired in European and Middle Eastern art. Rosalie Gascoigne was aware of arte povera and Australian artists such as John Armstrong, Tony Coleing, and John Davis. She also knew of American Minimalism through art magazines and acquisitions made for the Australian National Gallery. Anne Truitt was drawn to the Imagist vein, which included Noland and Louis. She was also struck by Reinhardt, Newman, and Nassos Daphnis after visiting the Guggenheim.
• Who influenced Anne Ryan?+

  It is difficult to identify specific individuals who directly influenced Anne Ryan. However, some context can be provided. At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Joan Mitchell studied with Louis Ritman, who had spent considerable time at Claude Monet's colony in Giverny. There, Ritman moved away from academic art towards a fluid style similar to Renoir and adopted the colours of Impressionism. Mitchell also studied with Kathleen Blackshear, who taught art history and emphasised Romanesque architecture, early Renaissance painting, Cézanne, Cubism and what was then called "primitive art". Blackshear assigned projects such as an Egyptian mural, a Japanese scroll, and a Cubist oil. The Art Institute itself was a significant influence, and Mitchell was inspired by Giotto, Bellini, Chardin, Degas and the Mexican modernists. She copied some works and visited others regularly, such as Manet's still life *Fish*.
• Who was Anne Ryan?+

  There are two artists named Anne Ryan, and one named Anne Bremer, who are easily confused. Anne Ryan (1873-1954^[1]) was born in LeMars, Iowa. She studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1914^[1], she relocated to Los Angeles. She studied with J. H. Vanderpoel, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, and Harry M. Walcott. After her husband, artist Edouard Vysekal, died in 1939, she became director of the Vysekal Studio Gallery in Hollywood, California. She also organised the Los Angeles Group of Eight. She is known for modernist figure and still-life paintings. Anne Bremer (1868-1923) was born in San Francisco. She began studies with Arthur Matthews at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art, and continued with Emil Carlsen at the San Francisco Art Students League. In 1910, she travelled to New York and then Paris, studying with André Lhote at the Académie Moderne and La Palette in 1911. She returned to San Francisco and served as president of the San Francisco Sketch Club from 1905 to 1907, and as a board member of the San Francisco Art Association. She is known for modern still lifes and stylised figures.
• What was Anne Ryan's art style?+

  After seeing Kurt Schwitters' work, Ryan began creating collages, typically small in size, using materials like silk, netting, handmade rag paper, and Japanese Washi paper. Her collages are now considered significant examples of postwar art.