Lot 171: Ruth Marie Reeves (1892 – 1966) Lithograph

Ruth Marie Reeves (1892 – 1966) was a painter, Art Deco textile designer and expert on Indian handicrafts. She was born in Redlands, California in 1892. She attended the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn from 1910 to 1911 and won an Art Students League scholarship in 1913. In 1920, she travelled to Paris and studied with Fernand Leger. During her time in Paris, she pioneered the use of vat dyes and the screen print process for home fabrics. Returning to the United States in 1927, her designs were influenced by modern developments in France like Cubism. Lewis Mumford called her wall hangings and dresses inspired by traditional Guatemalan designs shown in 1935 ......probably the most interesting work any designer has offered for commercial production today........One of her best-known works was the carpeting and wall fabrics of Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Her fabric and carpet designs along with those of her colleague Marguerita Mergentime can be seen there today. Donald Deskey, who won the competition to design the interiors for Radio City Music Hall, commissioned Reeves and Mergentime to design textiles for the hall. The Index of American Design, one of three main divisions of the Federal Art Project (FAP) was originally conceived by Reeves and Romana Javitz, the curator of the Picture Collection at the New York Public Library, as a way for the American artist to find authentic American everyday objects to use as visual references for their work. The Index was established with the FAP in January 1936 with Reeves as its national supervisor. She later taught at the Cooper Union Art School in New York. After 1956, she moved to India as a Fulbright Scholar, where she served on the All-India Handicrafts Board. She died in New Delhi in 1966. Offered here is a 1956 lithograph from the Improvisations portfolio, published by the Artists Equity Association of New York. Leading artists on the New York art scene were invited to contribute original lithographs in the form of advertisements for businesses and institutions supporting the Artists Equity Association; these sponsors allowed the artists complete creative freedom of expression. This lithograph was issued in an edition of 2000; the sheet measures 12 x 8-1/2 inches. Signed by Reeves in the plate (not hand-signed). The picture of Reeves and her assistant is not included here. Slight edge discoloring on right side near top otherwise in very good condition.

Slight edge discoloring on right side near top otherwise in very good condition.