People often ask who the artist was of the large portrait paintings in the museum. He was William “Ed” Bryan, a well loved Texas painter who lived in the Dublin area for many years. He was one of Texas leading portrait painters during his time. He was born in 1876 and graduated from Walnut Springs High School, the same high school that his brother, Dr. T. F. Bryan attended. Ed attended Baylor University for two years and went on to attend the Art Academy of Cincinnati, one of the leading art centers in America. He graduated with honors in 1905, and was given an art scholarship to attend the Colarossi Academy of Art in Paris. While studying art in Paris he visited art centers in England, Italy, Germany and Holland. While there, he was elected to be a teacher at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He returned and taught there for 2 years before having to resign because of poor health.
He returned to Dublin for a rest and after recovering, opened a studio in Chicago, where he won a place in art circles. His work was then interrupted again because of health, such that he was forced to continue his work near Dublin and family members. (Dublin Progress, March 2, 1951)
One of his most famous paintings was of Captain Alonza Steele, the last survivor of the Battle of San Jacinto. That painting was offered and accepted by the San Jacinto Art Museum located on the ground floor of the San Jacinto Battlefield Monument. The Steele family had Dublin friends and were familiar with Dublin’s passenger train connections. Family members would pass through town occasionally, since the elder Steele’s grandson, I. C. Steele lived near Lingleville. The elder Captain Steele was a veteran of the Civil War and the war between Texas and Mexico. (Dublin Progress, December 3, 1909)
To the First Baptist Church in Dublin, he offered the beautiful painting “Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.” He also created a memorial painting of S. L. Wolfe that is now on display at the museum.
His legacy includes the painting in San Jacinto, churches and the Historical Museum. His paintings and portraits are also treasured possessions in homes throughout the state.