Ruby Williams

Who is Ruby Williams?

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.