Ruth VanSickle Ford

Ruth Van Sickle Ford (August 8, 1897 – April 18, 1989) was an American painter, art teacher, and owner of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. She credited artists George Bellows, who influenced her interest in social realism, and John Carlson, who founded the School of Landscape Painting in Woodstock, New York, with helping her to develop her talent. She traveled and made paintings in the United States, Caribbean and South America. An award-winner, her works are in many permanent public and private collections. A book has been written about her entitled Warm Light, Cool Shadows: The Life and Art of Ruth Van Sickle Ford.

Personal life and education Ruth Van Sickle was born August 8, 1897 in Aurora, Illinois She was an only child and grew up on the west side of Aurora, Illinois. She attended West Aurora High School. with whom she stayed in contact after school. She continued studying art and credited the influences of teachers John Carlson, founder of the School of Landscape Painting in Woodstock, New York, and social realist George Bellows. salign=right

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In 1949, the Fords hired architect Bruce Goff, an instructor at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, to design and construct a house generally known as "Round House" at 404 South Edgelawn Avenue on Aurora's west side. Said to be modeled after a Tibetan nomad tent, it was also known as the Umbrella House, Mushroom House and Coal House, and attracted curiosity-seekers. It was a balloon-like structure with walls made of coal and chunks of colored glass that had an open interior floor plan. In April 1951 it was described as a "Hollywood fantasy" and a "fine spangling lustrous toy" by the Architectural Forum magazine.

Tired of the attention that their home received, in 1961 they sold it and moved to a conventional ranch house a few blocks away.

Career

Artist

Ford worked first as a commercial artist. She was chosen to exhibit in the 1921 American Show at the Art Institute of Chicago. She exhibited her work throughout the United States and the Caribbean islands, garnering numerous awards, including some very prestigious gold and silver medals. Her watercolors and oils are to be found in many museums and private collections, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

She made portraits of adults and children, still lifes, cityscapes, landscapes and paintings of everyday country and urban life. In 1947 an exhibition was held at the Grand Central Art Galleries entitled Watercolors of Mexico by Ruth Van Sickle Ford.

Educator

In 1921 and again in 1930 Ruth began teaching at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In 1937 she purchased the school with money borrowed from friends during the Great Depression and became its president and Director. She continued to teach watercolor and oil painting. She commuted from Aurora to Chicago every weekday, working from early morning and into the evening. For many years the school was located on the 12th floor of 18 South Michigan Avenue. She wrote at length about her theories of art education, including her statement that an art school graduate "should certainly be able to forge ahead with confidence, enthusiasm and a business-like application of his art training." One of her most famous Chicago students was political cartoonist Bill Mauldin. She lived her intention to make art and art education affordable.

In 1961 she sold the academy and began teaching classes at the local YMCA. From 1964 to 1973 taught at Aurora College, now Aurora University. The college awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1974.

During her life she was also an instructor at Beloit College in Wisconsin.

Awards 1931 - Fine Arts Building Prize, Annual Exhibition of Works by Chicago and Vicinity Artists, AIC 1934 - Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, 1934 1935 - Chicago Woman's Aid Club Prize, Annual Exhibition of Works by Chicago and Vicinity Artists, AIC 1964 - Women's Gold Medallion, Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art 2002 - Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame, Illinois, charter inductee

Professional organizations She became the first woman member from Illinois of the American Watercolor Society in 1954 and the first woman member of the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art in 1960. She was also a member of the American Artist Professional League, the Chicago Painters and Sculptors Association, the National Association of Women Artists, the Philadelphia Watercolor Club and the Chicago Society of Artists, Inc.

She helped found the Chicago Women's Salon.

Collections Her work is in the collections of the:

Aurora Public Library, Illinois Aurora University, Illinois Barbara and Powell Bridges Collection, Chicago Brauer Museum of Art, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana Plum Landing, Aurora, Illinois West Aurora High School, Voris Library, Illinois