Worth Ryder

• Name — Worth Ryder • Birth Name — Woodworth Allen Ryder • Born — 10 November 1884 • Birthplace — Kirkwood, Illinois, U.S. • Died — 17 February 1960 • Place of death — Berkeley, California, U.S. • Education — University of California, Berkeley, Art Students League of New York, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich • Known for — Art • Spouse — Cornelia Meta Breckenfeld • Children — 1

Worth Allen Ryder was born November 10, 1884, in Kirkwood, Illinois. He was one of three children. His father Morgan L. Ryder was a former trustee of the town of Berkeley and worked for the Southern Pacific freight trains. Ryder arrived in Berkeley, California as a young child and graduated from Berkeley High School in 1903. He studied at the University of California, Berkeley, at the Art Students League of New York, from 1906 to 1908 and the Royal Bavarian Academy in Munich (now called the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich). In 1911, he returned to California, where he taught at the California School of Arts and Crafts (now called the California College of the Arts) until 1918. He also served as curator of the Oakland Art Gallery from 1916 to 1918. From 1921 to 1927, Ryder continued his art studies in Germany, France, and Italy. One of his teachers was Hans Hofmann. He was instrumental in bringing Hans Hofmann to the United States. It was in the United States where Hofmann had his first solo show at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor and Hoffman taught in the 1930 and 1931 summer sessions at University of California, Berkeley. Ryder taught art at the University of California, Berkeley from 1926 until his retirement in 1955. Among Ryder's pupils were artists Dorothy Rieber Joralemon, Robert Boardman Howard, Karl Kasten, James McCray, among others. Ryder died from a heart ailment on February 17, 1960, in Berkeley, California. He was survived by his wife Cornelia Meta Ryder (née Breckenfeld) and daughter Cornelia Beatrice Ryder.