# Ruth Butler
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{{Short description|American art historian (1931–2024)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox academic
| name = Ruth Butler
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|10|07}}
| birth_place = [Buffalo, New York](/source/Buffalo%2C_New_York), U.S.
| education = [Western Reserve University](/source/Western_Reserve_University)
[Cleveland Institute of Art](/source/Cleveland_Institute_of_Art)
[New York University Institute of Fine Arts](/source/New_York_University_Institute_of_Fine_Arts)
| discipline = Art history
| workplaces = [University of Maryland, College Park](/source/University_of_Maryland%2C_College_Park)
[University of Massachusetts Boston](/source/University_of_Massachusetts_Boston)
| spouse = {{marriage|[Carl Kaysen](/source/Carl_Kaysen)|1994|2010|end=d}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|11|28|1931|10|07}}
| death_place = [Cambridge, Massachusetts](/source/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts), U.S.
| doctoral_advisor = [H. W. Janson](/source/H._W._Janson)
}}
'''Ruth Butler''' (October 7, 1931 – November 28, 2024) was an American [art historian](/source/art_historian) and academic who specialized in 19th-century [French sculpture](/source/French_sculpture) and the roles of artists' models and collaborators. She taught at the [University of Maryland, College Park](/source/University_of_Maryland%2C_College_Park) and the [University of Massachusetts Boston](/source/University_of_Massachusetts_Boston), and authored works on [Auguste Rodin](/source/Auguste_Rodin) and the lives of women associated with artists of the era.
== Early life and education ==
Butler was born on October 7, 1931, in [Buffalo, New York](/source/Buffalo%2C_New_York), to Hermine Hansen and George Butler.[{{Cite news |last=Green |first=Penelope |date=December 27, 2024 |title=Ruth Butler, Who Brought Artists' Muses to Life, Dies at 93 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/27/arts/ruth-butler-dead.html |access-date=December 30, 2024 |work=New York Times |archive-date=December 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241230060030/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/27/arts/ruth-butler-dead.html |url-status=live }}] She grew up in Buffalo, starting art lessons at age five, and later in [Decatur, Illinois](/source/Decatur%2C_Illinois). Her father worked as a purchasing agent for an automobile parts manufacturer and also made yard signs and other objects at home.[{{Cite web |last=Lauria |first=Andria |date=July 18, 2012 |title=Ruth Butler |url=https://bostonathenaeum.org/news/ruth-butler/ |access-date=January 2, 2025 |publisher=Boston Athenaeum |language=en-US |archive-date=January 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250102110937/https://bostonathenaeum.org/news/ruth-butler/ |url-status=live }}]
Butler earned a B.A. in 1953 from [Western Reserve University](/source/Western_Reserve_University) and the [Cleveland Institute of Art](/source/Cleveland_Institute_of_Art).[{{Cite web |title=Collection: Ruth Butler Research Collection {{!}} Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives |url=https://pmalibrary.libraryhost.com/repositories/3/resources/338 |access-date=January 2, 2025 |website=pmalibrary.libraryhost.com |archive-date=January 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250102110937/https://pmalibrary.libraryhost.com/repositories/3/resources/338 |url-status=live }}][{{Cite web |date=2005 |title=Writers Directory 2005: Butler, Ruth (Ann) |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/butler-ruth-ann |access-date=December 30, 2024 |website=Encyclopedia.com |archive-date=December 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241230060030/https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/butler-ruth-ann |url-status=live }}]
== Career ==
Butler began her academic career as an assistant professor of [art history](/source/art_history) at the [University of Maryland, College Park](/source/University_of_Maryland%2C_College_Park) from 1969 to 1972.[{{Cite web |title=Ruth Butler |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/ruth-butler/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation |archive-date=January 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250111231854/https://www.gf.org/fellows/ruth-butler/ |url-status=live }}] She is best known for her 1993 publication ''Rodin: The Shape of Genius'', a biography of Auguste Rodin that incorporated extensive [archival research](/source/archival_research) from the [Musée Rodin](/source/Mus%C3%A9e_Rodin). The book examined the sculptor's career and his broader historical and cultural context.[{{Cite web |title=Los Angeles Times Book Prize {{!}} Awards and Honors |url=https://www.librarything.com/award/283/Los-Angeles-Times-Book-Prize |access-date=January 2, 2025 |publisher=LibraryThing |language=en |archive-date=January 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250111230854/https://www.librarything.com/award/283/Los-Angeles-Times-Book-Prize |url-status=live }}][{{Cite web |title=George Wittenborn Memorial Book Award {{!}} Awards and Honors {{!}} LibraryThing |url=https://www.librarything.com/award/4221/George-Wittenborn-Memorial-Book-Award |access-date=January 2, 2025 |publisher=LibraryThing |language=en |archive-date=January 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250111234534/https://www.librarything.com/award/4221/George-Wittenborn-Memorial-Book-Award |url-status=live }}]
In 2008, Butler published ''Hidden in the Shadow of the Master: The Model-Wives of Cézanne, Monet, and Rodin''. This work focused on the lives of [Marie-Hortense Fiquet](/source/Marie-Hortense_Fiquet), [Camille Doncieux](/source/Camille_Doncieux), and [Rose Beuret](/source/Rose_Beuret), examining their relationships with [Paul Cézanne](/source/Paul_C%C3%A9zanne), [Claude Monet](/source/Claude_Monet), and Rodin, respectively. The book explored their roles as models and collaborators.[{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Patricia |date=September 3, 2008 |title=Author Gives Voice to Artists' Silent Muses, Their Wives |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/books/04butler.html |access-date=December 30, 2024 |work=New York Times |archive-date=December 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241230060030/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/books/04butler.html |url-status=live }}][{{Cite news |last=Yeazell |first=Ruth Bernard |date=October 23, 2008 |title=Sit like an Apple |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v30/n20/ruth-bernard-yeazell/sit-like-an-apple |access-date=January 2, 2025 |work=London Review of Books |language=en |volume=30 |issue=20 |issn=0260-9592 |archive-date=January 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250102112439/https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v30/n20/ruth-bernard-yeazell/sit-like-an-apple |url-status=live }}]
After retiring, Butler created a scholarship fund at the University of Massachusetts Boston to support art students [studying abroad](/source/studying_abroad).[{{Cite web |last=Boston |first=UMass |title=Scholarships |url=https://www.umb.edu/liberal-arts/academic-departments/art/student-resources/scholarships/ |access-date=January 2, 2025 |publisher=UMass Boston |language=en |archive-date=December 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241231125337/https://www.umb.edu/liberal-arts/academic-departments/art/student-resources/scholarships/ |url-status=live }}]
== Personal life ==
Butler's first marriage, to biologist Maurizio Mirolli, ended in divorce. In 1994, she married [Carl Kaysen](/source/Carl_Kaysen), an economist and former [deputy national security adviser](/source/Deputy_National_Security_Advisor) who died in 2010.