Ruby Williams
Ruby C. Williams (June 9, 1928 – August 8, 2022)[1] was an American folk artist.[2]
Ruby Williams | |
---|---|
Born | Ruby Curry 9 June 1928 Bealsville, Florida |
Died | 8 August 2022 94) Plant City, Florida | (aged
Style | Folk art |
Children | 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
- Lentz-Janney, Melanie (August 11, 2022). "Celebrating the Life of Miss Ruby C. Williams". Authentic Florida. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- "RUBY C. WILLIAMS". alumnus.caltech.edu. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
- Phil Attinger "Folk Artist Ruby Williams Imparts Life Lessons to Students", The Ledger (Lakeland, FL), November 20, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
- 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.
- Kentuck (June 10, 2020). "Meet The Artist: Ruby Williams". Kentuck Art Center. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
- "Ruby C. Williams ( – )". Florida Division of Historical Resources. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
- "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.