Pat Ryan, an Irish American, studied art at Mount Holyoke College in the mid-forties, having been introduced, by her parents, to the work of the masters through frequent museum trips in Brooklyn and Manhattan, New York. After a three-year stint as a Navy WAVE, the State Department offered Ryan a job abroad, where she would realize her dream of seeing the original works she'd so admired in her youth. In 1949, Ryan traveled from the United States to Europe aboard the Queen Mary and commenced her secretarial job in Geneva. Over the course of three years, Ryan delved into the world of art and explored Europe's splendid landscapes from France's Paris to the mighty Alps