Ruby Williams
Born
Ruby Curry

(1928-06-09)9 June 1928
Bealsville, Florida
Died8 August 2022(2022-08-08) (aged 94)
Plant City, Florida
StyleFolk art
Children2

Ruby C. Williams (June 9, 1928 – August 8, 2022)[1] was an American folk artist.[2]

She was born and grew up in Bealsville, Florida,[3] a community formed by freed slaves, including Williams' great grandmother, Mary Reddick.[4]

Known as Miss Ruby, she was an evangelical minister in Paterson, New Jersey, for 25 years.[5] After she returned to Florida she ran a produce stand and "walk in" gallery on State Road 60.[3] A self-taught artist, her career in folk art began in 1981 when her hand-painted signs, advertising her fruits and vegetables, were noticed by a local photographer and folk art collector, Bud Lee, who helped her to draw the attention of local media and institutions, including the Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, mounted exhibitions.[4]

In 2005 she received the Florida Folk Heritage Award[6] and was included in the show On Their Own – Selected Self-taught Artists at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum in Washington D.C.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Lentz-Janney, Melanie (August 11, 2022). "Celebrating the Life of Miss Ruby C. Williams". Authentic Florida. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  2. ↑ "RUBY C. WILLIAMS". alumnus.caltech.edu. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Phil Attinger "Folk Artist Ruby Williams Imparts Life Lessons to Students", The Ledger (Lakeland, FL), November 20, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  4. 1 2 Genzlinger, Neil (August 30, 2022). "Ruby C. Williams, Folk Artist With a Produce Stand, Dies at 94". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  5. ↑ Kentuck (June 10, 2020). "Meet The Artist: Ruby Williams". Kentuck Art Center. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Ruby C. Williams ( – )". Florida Division of Historical Resources. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Anacostia Museum Opens Three Exhibitions Celebrating the Work of Self-taught African-American Artists" (PDF). Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture. April 20, 2005. Retrieved December 3, 2010.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.