Ryan Lee Smith

Ryan grew up in a small town in Oklahoma were he became fascinated with the countryside and immersed himself in fishing and exploring his environs. After graduating from Baylor University (1997) he moved to Colorado and, for the next five years, did hundreds of drawings and paintings of the mountains. His fascination was intense as he had never seen mountains before.

Having spent a year at graduate school in New Orleans, all the while thoroughly enjoying the cosmopolitan atmosphere and its proximity to large expanses of water, he and his wife moved back to the countryside of Oklahoma.

“I would like to do something for Native arts in Oklahoma and other places. I want to erase the stereotype attached to Native American art. I want to show the art world that Native art is not solely about representation.”

— from the book Migrations. New Directions in Native American Art. Edited by Marjorie Devon, director of The Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque, NM. Page 97.