A picture taken for 1923 University of Minnesota Yearbook
Arthur Ruddy: A Portrait of the Artist
A picture taken for 1923 University of Minnesota Yearbook
An early tragedy
Hugh Arthur Ruddy was born April 14, 1903 in Chicago Illinois to first generation Irish immigrant parents, James Ruddy and Annie (McNulty) Ruddy. James was a foreman at the Illinois Steel Company. Hugh Arthur was the youngest preceded by two brothers, Howard and Francis and a sister, Alice. He was dutifully baptized on April 26, 1903 St Bride’s Roman Catholic Church. Tragedy struck when he was but eight months old when his father James died in Chicago on January 7, 1904 leaving Annie and her four children alone in a big city. James' older brother Mike, who owned the family farm in Fairfax, Minnesota, went immediately to Chicago and brought James' body along with Annie and the children back to Fairfax. James was interred in the family plot at St Andrew's Cemetery. Annie and her children moved into a modest house in Fairfax. Ten-year old Arthur, who had dropped "Hugh" from his name in favor of "Arthur H." was given first communion at St Andrew’s church in Fairfax on June 8, 1913. Arthur was called upon during the summers as he grew older to work on his uncle Mike's farm. Sometime before 1920, Annie moved her children to Minneapolis and opened a boarding house which supplied her and the children a living.
Census Data Helps
The Census of Chicago, Illinois of 1900:
The Census Fairfax, Minnesota of 1905:
The Census of Fairfax, Minnesota 1910:
The Census of Minneapolis Minnesota 1920:
Sometime in his young life before the age of six, Arthur, who disliked the name ‘Hugh’ demanded to be called Arthur and from that point forward in his life he was officially called Arthur H Ruddy.
The first of the name...
Living in Minneapolis afforded access to a higher education. Arthur, perhaps as the youngest, was chosen to go to college by Annie and entered the Universtiy of Minnesota's school of Architecture in 1920. During the summers between semesters Arthur would work in the National Park system. There are pictures from family albums showing him at Yellowstone and at Glacier National Park. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. Arthur was the first college graduate in the Ruddy family.
One of the fruits of his summer jobs was a copyrighted picture he took of a Rocky Mountain Goat at Glacier National Park which was found in a trunk.
The Early Years: Chicago
Arthur's first real job came in 1926 when he joined the Chicagoan Magazine as Art Editor. Between 1926 and 1927 Arthur painted 12 covers for the Chicagoan Magazine according to art historian Neil Harris who wrote "The Chicagoan" a book detailing the history of that magazine. Harris characterizes Arthur's art as "whimsical, light-spirited, and witty -- playful in a 1920s mode." Arthur also did considerable interior work in the magazine producing cartoons and illustrating articles.
Arthur once told us he had dated Ann Sothern when she was a chorus girl in Chicago. Whether true or not I can not say. Research reveals that Ann Sothern (Harriette A Lake) moved from North Dakota to Minneapolis in 1911. Harriette Lake graduated from Minneapolis Central High in 1926 very active in singing and placing both together in Minneapolis before Arthur left for Chicago. Sothern's biographer, Margie Shultz, does not mention anywhere that Sothern lived in Chicago where that supposed date took place; but, A Chicago Company produced a Broadway show in New York in New York in 1933 with Harriette Lake in a leading role. So nothing negates his claim. Both of them have passed on so the mystery remains.
Arthur H Ruddy cover on Chicagoan Magazine 1926
Arthur H Ruddy cover Chicagoan Magazine 1927
Arthur H Ruddy cover on the Chicagoan Magazine 1927
Cartoon Chicagoan Magazine 1926
Article illustration Chicagoan Magazine 1926
The 1930s: New York Period
Early reminiscences by Elisabeth, Arthur's wife, about Arthur's time in New York indicate him living in a studio apartment with a job designing lighting fixtures while in his spare time he painted city scenes and rural landscapes. Apparently Arthur and Elisabeth spent a lot of time in "the Village" and were acquainted with the many artists and sculpturers who were hoping to be recognized in the New York art community in the 1930s. Arthur exhibited his paintings at several Art Galleries in New York but whether any were ever sold or not I do not know. Arthur and Elisabeth married in 1933 and then in 1938 reality hit home as Elisabeth became pregnant and quit her job at Crowell publishing where she was a sub-editor on the Woman's Home Companion. On August 6, 1938 she presented Arthur with the first of three sons. Arthur had found a job at the New York's World's Fair of 1939 - 1940 where his lighting fixtures were found along the sidewalks, and he was designated Artist and director of the fireworks and fountain display that took place at night. He also designed metal plaques of animals that were used as signposts at the Bronx Zoo.
Pamphlet for an Art Exhibit at GRD Studio
Pamphlet for an Art Exhibit at Morton Galleries
From the New York Times May 28, 1935
The Landscapes of New York in 1930's
NOTE: The pictures shown below are intended to be representative of Arthur's style of work but were taken with a digital snap shot camera and therefore don't adequately reproduce the quality and color of the original paintings. Also the relative size of the various paintings has been adjusted, while maintaing proportion, to be more compatible with this website presentation.
"Children" painted in New York in mid 1930's
The New York World's Fair 1939-40
Architectual design concept drawings of a pedestrian overpass by Arthur Ruddy. Note the round swirls at top of the canopy poles.
[NY Public Library Photo]
Actual view of the overpass as contructed from the above drawings. The round swirl is visable but the flags are vertical compared to the concept drawing.
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On the left is Arthur Ruddy's architectual concept design of the large "sound housing" used during the fountain and fireworks displays at the Lagoon of Nations. Arthur also was in charge of the the multicolored lights that played on the various fountains and directed the lighting changes through the use of cue cards to the technicians. The large round 'tub' is the Sound Housing and is visible at the base of the main water gusher in the fountain photo . [picture on right NY Public Library]
On the left is Arthur's design concept drawing of the lights for the double walkway leading to the Court of Communications. One of these light columns is visible at the end of the tree-line at the far right. [Photo NYPL]
The architectual concept design of a light pole and how it looked at the fair [photo NYPL]
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The Concept Design of the "Bridge of Wings" which was part of the Street of Wings, a wide walkway for pedestrians going to and fro from the Court of Power to the Avenue of Transportation. Although design of the mount that attaches the "wings"to the ground stanchions are not a perfect match, Arthur indicated that the Bridge Wings was one of his designs [Photo NYPL]
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Above: Another information booth this one in "Plaza I Sec II" Below: left and right. Designs for information booths
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Sketch of a covered waiting area. A photo of this has not been located yet. |
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Excerpt from the New York Times July 4, 1939 speaking of the Lagoon of Nations Display:
"Kennet Morgan director of displays for the Fair was placed at the head of
organization, with John G. Lawrence as superintendent, in direct charge of production; Arthur Ruddy as artist and architect to prepare the cue sheets; Howard Cooper in charge of hydraulic engineering...."
Lights designed Arthur were everywhere along walkways and in the plazas. They featured then 'new' flourescent lighting.
Shown below are a few pages from a New York World's Fair Book where Arthur marked "x" where lighting fixtures he designed were in the photos:
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 Spiraling around flourescent tubes |
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[Pages from the book "The New York Worlds Fair" by Stanley Appelbaum with my notes and Arthur's 'x's]
After a twenty year hiatus:
The later years 1958- 1983
Arthur stopped painting in 1938 and then resumed landscape painting in Southern California in 1958 after the graduation from high school of his sons Michael and James. As mentioned above the quality of the photos here [two are from old 35 mm slides] are not true to the original but they give a pretty good idea of Arthur's painting styles. The first picture was done shortly after he restarted painting while working in Fort Worth, Texas. After living in Fort Worth a couple of years he returned to Cardiff by the Sea and continued painting mostly desert landscapes.Texas Sky 1967-68
Puerto Rico Abt. 1985
About 1986 Arthur and Elisabeth visited thier son in Puerto Rico where he did several Watercolors from Marina Lanai on .
A picture from above of Condominium Marina Lanai [now part of the El Conquistador Hotel] with Palomino Island in the distance.[picture:Wikimeda] Below are two Watercolors of the area done by Arthur..
California 1958-1987
Below are representative of Arthur's use of various art media: Watercolor, Oil, Airbrush, Etching, Sketch and Pastel. Watercolor painting is where most of Arthur's work took place followed by oils, the other media seem to be experiments in media.
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A photo taken between 1970-1980 of Arthur at his home in Cardiff by the Sea, California
where he
painted in his later years.
