'Woman Wearing a Headscarf' by Ruth Peabody, Laguna Beach, California, Art Institute of Chicago

Description

Signed lower right, 'Ruth Peabody' for Ruth Eaton Colburn Peabody (American, 1893-1966) and painted circa 1955.

Born in Highland Park, … more Signed lower right, 'Ruth Peabody' for Ruth Eaton Colburn Peabody (American, 1893-1966) and painted circa 1955.

Born in Highland Park, Illinois, Ruth Peabody was taught to paint as a child by her mother, artist Elanor Colburn, and first studied sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago. The two women moved to Laguna Beach, California, in 1924, and became active in the local art scene. At their studio, Peabody sculpted fountains and memorial plaques when not teaching, privately and at Laguna Beach High School.

Over the course of a long career, Ruth Peabody exhibited widely and with success including at the Panama Pacific Exhibition (1915), Art Institute of Chicago, Oakland Art Gallery (1932)and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1931) and was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards. In 1939, the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego presented Peabody's abstract works in a solo exhibition, the first show of its kind by a regional artist. Her work is held in private and public collections including the San Diego Museum and Orange County Museum.


Exhibitions:
Panama Pacific Exhibition, 1915; Laguna Beach Art Association, 1925-52; County Fair (LA), 1925, 1931; California State Fair, 1926, 1936; West Coast Arts (LA), 1927; Biltmore Salon (LA), 1927; San Diego FA Gallery, 1929, 1931, 1937, 1939; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1931; California Art Club, 1927-32; Painters & Sculptors of LA, 1930-31; Pasadena Art Institute 1931; Olympiad, LACMA, 1932; Oakland Art Gallery, 1932; Whittier Art Gallery, 1934; Golden Gate International Exposition, 1939.

Collections:
Laguna Beach Art Gallery (fountain & medallion of Anna Hills); Laguna Beach Humane Society (fountains); San Diego Museum; Anaheim High School; Hoag Hospital (Newport Beach); Orange Co. (CA) Museum.

Reference:
Artists in California 1786-1940, Third Edition, Edan Milton Hughes: Crocker Art Museum, Sheridan Books 2002, Vol. 2, page 860; American Art Annual 1925-33; Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 3, page 2546; Emerging from the Shadows: A Survey of Women Artists Working in California, 1860-1960, Maurine St. Gaudens, Schiffer Publishing Ltd 2015, Vol. 3, page 842-843; Publications in Southern California Art 3, Nancy Dustin Wall Moure, Dustin Publications 1984, page 193; Artists of the American West (Doris Dawdy); So. Calif. Artists 1890-1940; et al. less