Marie Smyrnis American (20th century) Portrait of Robert C. Ray, 1945 oil on canvas Signed lower left, titled and dated verso. Born in 1926, "Robert Bobby Ray" attended John Herron Art School in Indianapolis, took English courses at Butler University, spent a summer in Italy and Spain in 1953, and studied with Hans Hoffman at his School of Fine Arts in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Mr. Ray wrote the first of three books in 1959 and ran an Interior Design Studio and antique shop called "Decor Original," located at 1441 North Delaware in Indianapolis, for many years. Upon his return to Elwood, he transformed two buildings on his property into his private residences, a barn into an Antiques Shop and Interior Design Studio, and another fabrication into his personal art studio. 21 3/4"H x 17 1/2"W, 23 1/2"H x 19 1/4"W (frame)