Born in 1929 Thomas Ryan HRSA attended the Limerick School of Art, then the National College of Art in Dublin, where he studied under Seán Keating and Maurice MacGonigal. He first exhibited at the RHA in 1957 and became an associate member in 1968. He was elected President of the RHA in 1982 and served until 1992.
He has had many commissions for portraits including Presidents, Taoisigh, Cardinals and Archbishops, Provosts and University Presidents and he is also well known for his sensitive still-life and genre paintings and for his Irish historical scenes, especially those of the 1916 Rising.
