Ruth Laird (American, 1921-2007)

Emily Ruth Laird was born in Houston in 1921. She attended Houston Schools: Woodrow Wilson Elementary, Sidney Lanier Junior High School, and Lamar Senior High, graduating in 1940. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. For several years, she taught Ceramics at the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Throughout her career, Laird exhibited in museums throughout the United States, including: Cranbrook Academy Art; Beaumont Art Museum; Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and The Metropolitan Museum of Art; among others. Among numerous awards, Laird received a grant from the Texas Swedish Cultural Foundation in 1955, Honorable Mention in the 17th Ceramic National, Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, and the Iroquois China Award, Syracuse Invitational International Exhibition, 1958.

Laird is best known for her minimalistic, surrealistic ceramics. These abstract and clean-lined ceramic sculptures contain personal symbolism related to her religious experiences practicing Catholicism. Some of her early works are inspired by forms found in nature, such as birds and onions. She began creating pottery and ceramics professionally in the 1940s. From the late 1950s-1970s, these works were sold commercially through Handmakers, a shop featuring works by local Houston artists. Laird was an original member of this group, along with artists Stella Sullivan and Frank Dolejska. She was a member of the Texas Fine Arts Association and the Texas Designer-Craftsmen. Throughout her career, Laird produced several large-scale commissions, including: 1960, fountain, New Harmony, IN; 1962, baptismal font, St. Basil's Church, Angelton, TX; and 1962-73, several altar pieces, Chapel at Rice University, Houston, TX.

Today, Laird’s ceramics can be found in numerous private and museum permanent collections, including: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY; Contemporary Crafts Museum, New York, NY; Children's Museum, Detroit, MI; Cranbrook Museum, Bloomfield, MI; Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, TX; among others.

Biographical & Career Highlights:

1921 Born in Houston, TX

1940 Graduated from Lamar High School, Houston, TX

1941-42 Attended the University of Texas, Austin, TX

1953-55 Attended Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield, MI

1955 Received a grant from the Texas Swedish Cultural Foundation

1955-58 Served as an art instructor at University of Houston, TX

1956-58 Served as an art instructor at St. Thomas University, Houston, TX

1958-68 Served as an art instructor and assistant dean at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

2007 Died in Corpus Christi, TX

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

1954 Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield, MI

1957 University of Houston, TX

1958 Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont, TX

1960 Rice University Gallery, Houston, TX

1970 Laguna Gloria Museum, Austin, TX

Selected Group Exhibitions:

1951 26th Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1951 Third Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX

1952 Texas Fine Arts Association

1952 27th Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1952 Fourth Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX

1953 28th Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1953 Fifth Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX

1954 29th Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1955 30th Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1955 Seventh Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX (catalog cover)

1955 31st Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1956 Exhibition with Hannah Stewart, Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont, TX

1957 32nd Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1957 International Invitational Exhibition, Syracuse Museum, Syracuse, NY (Purchase Award)

1957 Ninth Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX

1958 Tenth Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX

1958 Seventeenth Ceramic National, Syracuse Museum, Syracuse, NY (honorable mention)

1958 33rd Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1958 Invitational International Exhibition, Syracuse Museum, Syracuse, NY (Iroquois China Award)

1959 34th Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1960 35th Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1961 Thirteenth Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX

1962 Museum School Faculty Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1962 Sixth Annual Texas Designer / Craftsman Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX

1962 Twenty-Second Ceramic National Exhibition: A Survey of Contemporary Ceramics of the United States and Canada, Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY (honorable mention)

1963 Craftsmen of the Central States Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY

1964 The Crafts and Worship Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX

1968 Southwest Craftsmen, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX

Ruth Laird

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