Ruby C. Williams is a folk artist and produce vendor in Florida, United States.
She was born and grew up in Bealsville, Florida - a community formed by freed slaves in the 1860s. She then became a minister in New Jersey. Since returning to Florida she has run a produce stand and "walk in" gallery on State Road 60 since the early 1980s.
Williams is a self-taught artist. Her career in folk art got going in 1991 when passer-by Rodney Hardee noticed her brightly painted signs advertising her fruits and vegetables. With the coaxing from him and others, Ruby, a spiritual businesswoman, minister and grandmother embarked on the journey that has led her into classrooms, galleries and museums in Florida, as well as nationally. Recently Ruby illustrated a children's book titled, I Am Ruby. Her art and produce stand are covered by Jeff Klinkenberg in a section of his book Seasons of Florida.
Ruby Williams was honored with the 2005 Florida Folk Heritage Award and was included in the show, "On Their Own - Selected Self-taught Artists" at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum in Washington D.C.
Famous quotes containing the words ruby and/or williams:
“Thy great leaves enfold
The ancient beards, the helms of ruby and gold
Of the crowned Magi; and the king whose eyes
Saw the Pierced Hands and Rood of elder rise
In Druid vapour and make the torches dim....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“At that,
his small size,
keen eyes,
serviceable beak
and general truculence
assure his survival—”
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)