Lot 139: Tom Lea (1907-2001), "Mural Panels for East Wall,

Tom Lea (1907-2001), "Mural Panels for East Wall, Dining Room, Mimbres Hot Springs" 1935 mixed media on paper. Image: 8.5"H x 16.5"W; Frame: 19"H x 26.25"W. Signed and dated lower right, "Tom Lea, des. 1935"; titled lower middle. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Tom Lea was a painter, illustrator, muralist, teacher, writer and commercial artist. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, and from 1926 to 1933, worked there as a mural assistant to John Warner Norton, a noted muralist. In 1936 Lea returned to El Paso, working as an illustrator and WPA library and post-office muralist. Lea's murals of the 1930s express the history and character of the Southwest on walls of public buildings from Washington, D.C. to Dallas, Texas. A letter of provenance and explanation of historical significance accompanies the painting. Provenance: The Wheaton-Smith family owned the Mimbres Hot Springs near San Lorenzo, NM from 1946-1970, which they bought from Dr. Stovall who ran the ranch as a Sanatorium and clinic. This painting came with the ranch when the family purchased it in 1946. Upon the sale of the ranch in 1970, the painting was loaned to the Silver City Museum.