Robert Ryman was an American painter known for his rigorous formal investigation of monochromatic painting. Ryman’s iconic works examine the limited palette of white on white, painted on a variety of surfaces that include linen, fiberglass, vinyl, jute, and wallpaper. His abstract paintings never attempt to create an image, and instead present endless variations of paint as subject matter in and of itself. “There is never any question of what to paint,” the artist famously declared, “but how to paint.” Born on May 30, 1930 in Nashville, TN, he went on to serve in the army where he joined the army reserve band, later moving to New York with the intention of becoming a jazz saxophonist. While working as a guard at...