Ruby Williams

American folk artist (1928–2022)

Ruby Williams
Born	Ruby Curry (1928-06-09)June 9, 1928 Bealsville, Florida, U.S.
Died	August 8, 2022(2022-08-08) (aged 94) Plant City, Florida
Style	Folk art
Children	2

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

Life

Ruby Curry was born to Viola Curry Greene and Lawrence Curry in Bealsville, Florida,^[3]where she grew up in a community formed by freed slaves, including Curry's great grandmother, Mary Reddick, who founded the community's school.^[4]

Known as Miss Ruby, she was an evangelical minister in Paterson, New Jersey, for 25 years.^[5] She adopted the name Williams following her marriage, which ended in a "bitter divorce" in the 1960s.^[4]

After she returned to Florida in the 1980s,^[4] 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 1991 when her hand-painted signs, advertising her fruits and vegetables, were noticed by fellow folk painter, Rodney Hardee, who helped her to draw the attention of local media and institutions, including the Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, mounted exhibitions.^[4]

Williams' preferred medium was acrylic paint on plywood; initially, she used house paint for her creations. Her subject matter varied from scenes of everyday life to more whimsical or religious pieces.^[4]

In 2000, 25 of Williams' paintings were exhibited at the Paterson Museum in New Jersey.^[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.
^ ^a ^b Attinger, Phil (November 20, 2012). "Folk Artist Ruby Williams Imparts Life Lessons to Students". The Ledger. Lakeland, Florida. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Genzlinger, Neil (August 30, 2022). "Ruby C. Williams, Folk Artist With a Produce Stand, Dies at 94". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. 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.