Ruth Cravath Explained

Ruth Cravath
Birth Name:Ruth Barrows Cravath
Birth Date:23 January 1902
Birth Place:Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Death Place:Poulsbo, Washington, U.S.
Education:California School of Fine Arts
Spouse:Sam Bell Wakefield III (m. 1928–?)

Ruth Wakefield Cravath (1902–1986) was an American stonework artist and arts educator, specifically known for her public sculptures, busts and bas-reliefs in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Biography

Ruth Barrows Cravath[1] was born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 23, 1902[2] to Ruth Myra Rew and James Raney Cravath.[3] [4]

In high school Cravath attended summer art classes at the Art Institute of Chicago.[5] Cravath attended college at Grinnell College in Iowa for one year before moving to California in 1921 to join her family.[6] She attended California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco and studied with Beniamino Bufano and Ralph Stackpole.[7] She learned "cut direct" sculpting techniques from Stackpole. In 1926 she started teaching at the California School of Fine Arts, where her students included artists Jacques Schnier and Raymond Puccinelli.[8] In the same year, she co-founded the San Francisco Summer Art School for Children with Marian Trace. In 1928 she married Sam Bell Wakefield III.

Cravath was commissioned to create three statues for the north court of the 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition, GGIE, designed by Timothy L. Pflueger.[9] Her three statues surrounded the "Fountain of Western Waters" in the "Court of Pacifica" area of the Exposition and included a large sculpture named "Alaskan boy spearing a fish".

Her brother Austin Cravath married the artist Dorothy Wagner Puccinelli in 1941.[10] In 1945, Cravath began teaching art at Mills College in Oakland.

From 1958 to 1986, she lived at the historic Kerrigan House at 893 Wisconsin Street, between 22nd Street and Madera Street in San Francisco.[11] [12] She had lived near artist Jean Halpert–Ryden in the 1960s. Cravath died on November 30, 1986, in Poulsbo, Washington, at the age of 84.[13]

Public works

Cravath's best known work in the San Francisco Bay Area was her 27-foot-tall, cast-concrete and steel-reinforced statue of St. Francis that stood at the entrance of Candlestick Park from 1973 until 2015.[14] [15]

San Francisco Bay Area

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cravath, Ruth Barrows. medalartists.com. 2016-03-15.
  2. Web site: New Deal/W.P.A. Artist Biographies. WPAmurals.com. 2016-03-15.
  3. Web site: In Focus: f/64 and the Bay Area. 2015. Mills College Art Museum, Back Gallery. 2016-03-14.
  4. Book: California Art Research: Margaret Bruton, Esther Bruton, Helen Bruton, Helen Forbes, Edith Hamlin, Ruth Barrows Cravath. Hailey. Gene. California Art Research Project (Volume 16). 1936-01-01. San Francisco, Calif. : [s.n.].
  5. Web site: Cary Grant, 82, one of Hollywood's most popular and.... 1986-12-07. Chicago Tribune. 2016-03-15.
  6. Web site: Ruth Cravath. AskArt.com. 2016-03-15.
  7. Web site: Artwork at Candlestick Park, Ruth Wakefield Cravath. Public Art and Architecture from Around the World. 2016-03-15.
  8. Web site: Ruth Cravath (1902-1986). California Art Research Archive. 26 March 2014 . The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. en-US. 2016-03-15.
  9. Web site: Photo: AAK-0326. San Francisco Public Library. 2016-03-15.
  10. Web site: Dorothy Puccinelli. AskArt.com. 2016-03-15.
  11. Web site: San Francisco Landmark #148: Kerrigan House . 2022-11-04 . noehill.com.
  12. News: 1966-09-04 . Potrero Hill Artists' Studios Open House for ORT Benefit . 2024-03-05 . . 64 . Newspapers.com.
  13. Web site: A Leading San Francisco.... Orlando Sentinel. 2016-03-15.
  14. Web site: Statue of Limitations. 2015-01-26. Curbed SF. 2016-03-15.
  15. Web site: St. Francis Statue at Candlestick Soon to Be Homeless. NBC Bay Area. 2016-03-15.
  16. Web site: Landmarks of California, San Francisco Zen Center. Julia Morgan 2012 Festival. 2016-03-16.
  17. Book: Wilson, Mark Anthony. Julia Morgan: Architect of Beauty. Gibbs Smith. 2012. 978-1423636540. 31.
  18. Web site: History. The City Club of San Francisco. 2016-03-15.
  19. Web site: Candlestick Park's saint statue going on hiatus in Oakland. San Francisco Chronicle. 30 November 2015 . 2016-03-15.

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