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That Two-Thousand Yard Stare was created by El Paso artist Tom Lea, World War II Combat Artist for LIFE Magazine.
Who was Tom Lea?
Born in El Paso, Texas, in 1907, Tom Lea was one of the most famous artists of El Paso and a genius of the twentieth century with extraordinary gifts as a muralist, illustrator, war correspondent, portraitist, landscapist, novelist, and historian.
His murals, dating from the 1930s, express the history and character of distinct regions of the United States and are found on the walls of public buildings from Washington, D.C. to El Paso, Texas. Tom Lea was the first artist-correspondent to go into battle (most famously at the Battle of Peleliu) for LIFE magazine during World War II. Tom Lea was the creator of “That Two-Thousand Yard Stare” and traveled more than 100,000 miles to record U.S. and Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen waging war worldwide.
Learn more: https://www.tomlea.com/post/tom-lea-the-creator-of-the-two-thousand-yard-stare
Sierra Madre
Where can I find Tom Lea’s Murals in El Paso?
![Tom Lea’s Pass of the North Mural located in El Paso, Texas Lea, T. (1938) Pass of the North, mural [Oil on canvas] 11 X 54 feet. Federal Building, El Paso, Texas. Copyr Catherine Lea Week](https://visit-el-paso-2-production.s3.amazonaws.com/blog_articles/image_4s/000/000/539/original/Pass_of_the_North_Image.png?1776807095)
Tom Lea’s Pass of the North Mural located in El Paso, Texas Lea, T. (1938) Pass of the North, mural [Oil on canvas] 11 X 54 feet. Federal Building, El Paso, Texas. Copyr Catherine Lea Week
R.E. THOMASON FEDERAL BUILDING
511 East San Antonio Avenue
El Paso, TX 79901
This was Tom Lea’s favorite mural, painted as part of a project under President Roosevelt’s New Deal. Tom Lea painted this mural about the vivid history of El Paso for the city’s federal courthouse in 1938. An Italian Renaissance scholar compared it to the great Renaissance Masters because of its noble figures and classical timelessness.
Tom began his design by writing an inscription made up in his head that he placed over the door:
O PASS OF THE NORTH
NOW THE OLD GIANTS ARE GONE
WE LITTLE MEN LIVE WHERE HEROES
ONCE WALKED THE INVIOLATE EARTH
Tom Lea’s Southwest Mural, located in El Paso
Main El Paso Downtown Library
501 N Oregon St, El Paso, TX 79901
In 1951, the citizens of El Paso approved a bond issue to construct a new public library, and Tom Lea generously offered to paint a mural in it as a gift to his community. The building’s design included a planned space opposite the main entrance, a room dedicated to the library’s reference materials on Paso del Norte and the Southwest.
Tom’s wife, Sarah, assisted him with the mural, signing her name in the bottom right corner near his. The painting commenced in April of 1956 and was completed in May. After finishing the 6 x 24 ft. mural, Lea wrote: “It took its shape simply as a luminous window looking out upon its birthland. It spoke of space, sun, cloud, rain, wind, mountain, mesa, rock, sand, soil, and of living growth nurtured by them. The only human habitant of this elemental landscape was the viewer of the mural; the landscape’s horizon was at the viewer’s eye level when standing on the library’s floor. It was the earth, inhabited only by the viewer’s mind.”
Did Tom Lea write and illustrate books?
1949: World Premiere of the Brave Bulls at the Plaza Theater
He wrote and illustrated bestselling novels —The Brave Bulls and The Wonderful Country — that were adapted into Hollywood movies ( which premiered at the Plaza Theater in El Paso) , and a dozen other books about subjects as diverse as mountaineering in Wyoming, horse training in 16th-century New Spain, and wrote one of the best books about the history of the King Ranch.
What happened to Tom Lea’s artwork? What is The Tom Lea Institute?
Downtown Treasures tour 2025
Tom Lea’s artwork is found across the nation in private collections and locations throughout Texas, including The Museum of The Big Bend, The Harry Ransom Center, The El Paso Museum of Art, and the El Paso Public Library, both in El Paso, TX, and The Ellen Museum in Odessa, TX, among many others.
To honor him, the Tom Lea Institute (a nonprofit organization), founded in 2009 by Adair Margo , commemorates his life and work through FREE Events, exhibitions, its digital library, curricula, public programs, and publications. The Institute reaches audiences of all ages and encourages the exploration of regional art, history, and culture.
If you are in El Paso or visiting and are looking for things to do today or on the weekend, join them in their annual Tom Lea Celebration, where they provide FREE events, exhibits, & walking tours that take the community to beautiful and historic sites throughout the region, many of which reference Tom Lea's work. Experience decades of cultural wonders and historical landmarks like never before.
Visit tomlea.com or find our events on the Visit El Paso event calendar.
Explore more of his art here (Tom Lea Trail Guide):
Rio Grande
Rio Grande is currently on display at The El Paso Museum of Art. Created by Tom Lea in 1954, this painting hung in the White House Oval Office from 2000 to 2008.
“Sarah and I live on the east side of our mountain. It is the sunrise side, not the sunset side. It is the side to see the day coming, not the side to see the day that is gone. The best day is the day coming, with the work to do, with the eyes wide open, with the heart grateful.” - Tom Lea
