Ruth Smith childs Vintage Indiana Black Walnut Table measures 28.25in w x 22in d x 20in h. Cane Seat Chair measures 10.75in across seat by 11in high from seat to floor. Top of table has some scratches as do legs of chair. Ruth B. Smith (Lowdermilk, Lindahl, Arnold) Ruth Smith, American artist, was born in Payne, Ohio in 1908 and lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana for all her adult life until she died in 1993. She was an early member of the Hoosier School and the principal protege of Homer Davisson, director of the Fort Wayne Art School and her mentor and lifelong friend. As a five-year-old, she vowed to become the best artist she could be. Fifteen years later, she began her art career at the Fort Wayne Art School where she excelled at everything and mastered every type of art that was offered. Her massive talent blossomed under Davisson’s direction. She became an expert in painting, sculpture, ceramics, silversmithing, lapidary, woodworking, flower arranging, silhouettes, and textile weaving. She was especially known for her portraits, which are notoriously difficult to do well. After graduating from FWAS in 1935, she worked as the art director at Fox Advertising and was the art director for the Baseball Almanac. She added to her skills by getting a civil engineering degree from Indiana Tech. During the war, she was a popular editorial cartoonist for the Journal gazette. With a husband and a new baby, she made national news by building by herself a masonry house and studio from scratch during the post-WWII housing shortage in 1947. Smith actively pursued all forms of art but relied on flower arrangements, which always stood out as the best, for her primary income. She received much praise for her design of the Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park and the Nickle Plate Overpass. Her passion for art was so great that each year she returned to the Art School, now part of IU, as both a student and later as an instructor. She still holds the record for longest continuous student at IU, 64 years. Ruth Smith was widely loved, both for her talent and for being a genuinely good person.