Two (2) Olen L. Bryant (American/Tennessee, 1927-2017) figural watercolors on paper. 1st item: Black watercolor on paper painting of man reading a book, possibly a self portrait. Signed "Olen Bryant 1966" lower right. Housed behind glass in a contemporary black frame with gilt trim. Sight – 22 1/8" H x 19 1/2" W. Framed – 25" H x 22 1/4" W. 2nd item: Watercolor on paper painting depicting two black and grey female figures against a bluebackground. Signed and dated "O. Bryant 1966" lower left. Housed and matted under glass in a black and metallicsilver painted frame. Sight – 23 1/8" H x 17" W. Framed – 30 1/4" H x 23 1/2" W.Both items third quarter 20th century. Provenance: Estate of Olen Bryant, Cottonwood/Clarksville, TN. A letter of authenticity and provenance from the artist's niece, who served as his studio assistant and personal representative for his estate, will accompany this lot. Biography: Born in Cookeville, TN, Bryant was a 1950 graduate of Murray State University and a 1954 graduate of the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield, Michigan with a Master's Degree in Fine Arts. He additionally studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Institute in the Visual Arts in American Culture at the University of Delaware and the Winterthur Museum in 1967. Bryant was a professor at Austin Peay State University from 1964 to 1991. Bryant's artwork is widely collected around the United States and is a part of several museum collections, including the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, the Tennessee State Museum of Art and the Cheekwood Museum of Art in Nashville and his works have been displayed at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and at the Governor's Mansion during the Phil Bredesen administration. He was a founding member of the Nashville Artist Guild and the Tennessee Association of Craft Artists (source: Nashville Fine Arts Magazine & The Leaf Chronicle). CONDITION: 1st item: Overall toning and foxing. Not examined outside of frame. 2nd item: Overall toning, wrinkling to paper. Foxing spots to mat. Frame with areas of loss to silver paint. Not examined outside of frame.