Curry Studio & Gallery
In the quiet, historic stretch of Alpine known as Murphy Street, where the town’s oldest roots still show through the desert dust, Tom Curry has created an artistic sanctuary that is as innovative as the work within its walls. His studio and gallery space is a physical manifestation of his creative spirit, constructed primarily of “papercrete”—a sustainable, eco-friendly building material made from recycled paper and cement. This choice of architecture reflects Curry’s career-long commitment to seeing the world through a lens of transformation and resourcefulness.
Tom Curry is an internationally recognized artist, illustrator, and sculptor whose journey began in Coleman, Texas, and eventually wound through North Texas State University and military service in Germany. Before making Alpine his permanent home in 1993, Curry established himself as a premier illustrator in Austin, where his distinctive style graced the pages of Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. His transition to the Trans-Pecos region allowed him to shift his focus toward fine art, where he developed a signature aesthetic that critics often describe as a blend of conceptual depth and whimsical, sometimes dark, humor.
Perhaps his most celebrated body of work is the “Snowbirds of Terlingua” series, which captures the rugged, eccentric, and occasionally absurd charm of the desert dwellers in the Big Bend region. Beyond his canvas paintings, Curry is an accomplished children’s book illustrator, having provided the visuals for six highly regarded titles. His work on Buckamoo Girls was notably selected by Time magazine as one of the best children’s books of the year, while The Bootmaker and the Elves remains a regional favorite for its Western-inspired retelling of a classic tale.
Visitors to the gallery on Historic Murphy Street will find a diverse collection that spans from dynamic sculptures made of salvaged materials to biting political cartoons and editorial pieces that have been featured by CNN and Politico. The experience of visiting the gallery is often a personal one, as guests frequently have the chance to meet Tom and his wife, Susan, in a space that feels less like a sterile museum and more like a warm, living workshop. Located just behind the Amtrak station, the studio serves as a vital anchor for the Alpine arts community, bridging the gap between the town’s railroad history and its contemporary creative future.