Ruth Reeves papers, 1919-1966
Reeves, Ruth,
b. 1892
d. 1966
Art critic, Painter, Muralist, Designer
New York, N.Y.; Calif.
Collection size: 1.1 linear ft. (on 2 microfilm reels)
Collection Summary: Correspondence, biographical material, photographs, scrapbooks, writings, and printed material.
REEL 136: Correspondence, mostly personal but some discussing Reeves' collection of Indian Folk Art at Syracuse University and from New Delhi, Guatemala, Peru and Morocco; biographical material; an inventory of her paintings and fabrics; address books; photographs of Reeves, her family and of textiles and sculpture from India. Included in the photos is one of Reeves taken by Sid Grossman, ca. 1940's.
REEL 3093: A biography of Reeves; a memorandum about an article in the Journal of Occupational Therapy; letters to Harry L. Shapiro, curator of anthropology, Museum of National History and Milton Rugoff of Chanticleer Press; writings include "Design in Occupational Therapy," "What Creative Design Means to Me," "The Pre-Columbian Fabrics of Peru," and "Why the Modern Designer goes to Primitive Sources for Inspiration," and an outline for a book on textile design; 2 scrapbooks containing clippings and photographs of her designs and textiles; exhibition catalogs and clippings; and photographs of Reeves and her designs.
Biographical/Historical Note: Designer and textile designer; New York, N.Y. Served as head of the poster division of the New York City Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration in the late 1930s. Studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., the San Francisco School of Design, and the Art Students League of New York. Taught at the School of Painting and Sculpture at Columbia Univ. and the Cooper Union Art School. Died Dec. 23, 1966, at age 74.
Donated by Judith Katzman, daughter of Ruth Reeves, 1971-1972.
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