Herbert Ryman
Disney Imagineer and Fine Artist (1910-1989)

Herbert Dickens Ryman Jr. (June 28, 1910 – February 10, 1989) was an American artist and Disney Imagineer. Ryman worked in watercolor, oils, and pen & ink sketches. In 1953 Ryman drew the first illustrations of Walt Disney's vision of a theme park that eventually became Disneyland.
Early years and education
Ryman was born on June 28, 1910, in Vernon, Illinois, son of Dr. Herbert D. Ryman (1878–1918) and Cora Belle Ryman (née Norris, 1876–1963). His family moved to Decatur, IL when he was age 9. While attending Millikin University, he became deathly ill with scarlet fever. His mother was opposed to his artistic ambitions and wanted him to pursue a medical degree. But as his sickness worsened, she told him that he could attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The public source identifies “Herbert Ryman” as disney Imagineer and Fine Artist (1910-1989). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Herbert, Ryman and Disney.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3133500. VIAF identifies the subject as 28873700. The Library of Congress control number is n2001010607. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1910, 1989, 1953 and 1878.
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This entry incorporates text from “Herbert Ryman” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.