Person Record

Images

1 of 1977 Tom Lea

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Metadata

Name

Lea, Tom

Othernames

Thomas Calloway "Tom" Lea III

Born

7/11/1907

Titles & honors

1967: Honorary doctorate – Baylor University
1970: Honorary doctorate – Southern Methodist University
1971: Distinguished Public Service Award – United States Navy
1975: Hall of Honor – El Paso County Historical Society
1981: Lon Tinkle Award – Texas Institute of Letters
1990: Ima Hogg Historical Achievement Award
____: Colonel John W. Thomason Jr. Award for Artistic Achievement – United States Marine Corps
1995: Hall of Great Westerners – National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Notes

Tom Lea was born in El Paso, Texas in 1907 and grew up during the Mexican Revolution. After completing his education in El Paso, Lea attended the Art Institute of Chicago where he studied under muralist, John Norton. From 1926-1933 he worked as a muralist, commercial artist and art teacher in the Chicago area. Lea then moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where he worked on staff at the Laboratory of Anthropology until 1935.

Lea returned to El Paso in 1936 and completed four murals under the Treasury Department, Section of Fine Arts. He also illustrated several books and served as a war artist-correspondent for LIFE magazine during World War. Lea wrote and illustrated such works as The Brave Bulls (1949), The Wonderful Country (1952) and his autobiography called A Picture Gallery (1968). He lived in the El Paso area until his death in 2001. The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum is privileged to have several works by Tom Lea on display at the museum.