Lola Ryan (1925–2003) was an Australian shellworker of Tharawal/Eora descent who lived in La Perouse. Her work is in the permanent collections of several Australian museums.
Lola Ryan | |
---|---|
Born | 1925 |
Died | 2003 (aged 77–78) |
Nationality | Australian |
Known for | Shell art |
Ryan, who was of Tharawal/Eora descent, lived in La Perouse and learned shellworking from her family.[1][2] Ryan often worked with her sister, Mavis Longbottom.[3] Ryan and her sister, Longbottom, started selling their work as children.[4] The sisters would collect shells from Yarra Beach and other areas along the coast of New South Wales.[4]
Ryan's work is often brightly coloured, "encrusted" and scaled for use as art in the home.[5] She began to work with art collector, Peter Fay, in the late 1990s.[6] She started showing her work in galleries around the same time and in 2001, she showed her work at Gitte Weise's Gallery.[1][2]
Ryan's work is in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia,[7] the Art Gallery of New South Wales,[8] the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery,[9] the Australian National Maritime Museum,[10] the Museum of Contemporary Art,[11] and the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences.[4]