Ruth Ansel

Ruth Ansel studied Fine Art at Alfred University^[1] and debuted as a designer in 1962. She was co-art director of Harper's Bazaar in the 1960s along with Bea Feitler.^[1] She was art director of The New York Times in the 1970s and Vanity Fair in the 1980s.^[1] She was the first female in each position.^[2]

Ruth Ansel began her career in art direction after cold calling Harper's Bazaar, where there happened to be an opening in the Art Department, which was under the directorship of Marvin Israel, at the time.^[2] In 1963, when Marvin Isreal was fired after a falling out with editor in chief, Nancy White, Ruth Ansel and Bea Feitler became co-art directors of Harper's Bazaar.^[3] It was in collaboration with Bea Feitler and Richard Avedon that Ruth Ansel produced the now iconic April 1965 cover of Jean Shrimpton with a winking eye and a bright pink "helmet" that was cut and pasted from day-glo paper.^[3] In the 1970s, she became the first female art director of The New York Times Magazine and in the 1980s she created the look of Vanity Fair.^[2]

In 2008, the Wolfsonian-FIU organized an exhibition titled, The Thoughts on Democracy: Reinterpreting Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms. Ansel was one of 55 leading designers invited to contribute a poster based on the "Four Freedoms" posters created in 1943 by American illustrator Norman Rockwell.^[4]

Awards

• The Gold Medal for Design in 1970, The Art Directors Clubs
• Honored with a special tribute in 1994 from the Society of Publication Design Award for Continuing Excellence in Publication Design^[5]
• AIGA Medalist, 2016^[6]

References