Adrian James Ryan (1920-1998)

Born at Hampstead on 3 October 1920, the son of the landscape and portrait artist Vivian D Ryan. Both of his parents were painters. Adrian was educated at Eton and his childhood was divided between the family homes of Hintlesham Hall in Suffolk and Villa Santa Lucia at Cagnes-sur-Mer. He studied at the Architectural Association 1938-39 and the Slade School of Art 1939-40, during its wartime evacuation to Oxford. He was excused military service on medical grounds and got a head start on his contemporaries by setting himself up as an artist, whilst they were still in uniform. His first studio in Tite Street, Chelsea was shared with Augustus John's son Edwin. Ryan w...