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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)John M. Jackson, Archivist
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
The collection is open for research.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Ruth White Fisher Scrapbook, Ms1987-058, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Ruth White Fisher Scrapbook was acquired by Special Collections prior to 1988.
The processing of the Ruth White Fisher Scrapbook commenced and was completed in November, 2018.
Ruth White Fisher, daughter of Flora White, was born in Madison County, Ohio in 1894. A childhood victim of beriberi, Fisher developed an early interest in nutrition and earned a bachelor's degree in the subject from The Ohio State University in 1922. That same year, she married Robert Anderson Fisher, a professor of chemical engineering, and worked as a nutritionist until 1936, when the Fishers moved to Blacksburg, Virginia, where Robert Fisher had joined the faculty of Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Meanwhile, Ruth Fisher continued to study nutrition, earning a master's degree in dairy husbandry and home economics at Virginia Tech in 1940. Her thesis was entitled "The Influence of the Ration of the Cow on Vitamin C Content of Milk." The following year, Ruth Fisher temporarily left Blacksburg to be near her husband, who was on military leave elsewhere.
Later returning to Blacksburg, Ruth White Fisher became an active member of several Blacksburg clubs and organizations, including the Blacksburg Regional Art Association; Blacksburg Branch, American Association of University Women; Blacksburg Women's Club; Southside Garden Club; Blacksburg Council of Garden Clubs (of which she served as president in 1950); Blacksburg Community Federation; and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She served as an officer in many of these organizations and was also a member of Blacksburg Presbyterian Church.
Fisher maintained an interest in art throughout her life, studying art at the Columbus School of Art and privately with a number of Virginia Tech's professors of art. In addition to creating her own paintings, she promoted the works of others. With local painter Vance Miller, Fisher established the Palette Gallery, the first art gallery in southwestern Virginia.
In 1966, Fisher donated to Virginia Tech's Department of Chemical Engineering a set of five paintings--her own creations--entitled "The Evolution of Creativity."
Ruth White Fisher died in 1984 and was buried in Madison County, Ohio.
This collection consists of a single scrapbook from artist Ruth White Fisher, regarding her series of paintings titled "The Evolution of Creativity," presented to Virginia Tech. The scrapbook contains multiple images of the five paintings, together with the text of their individual captions, and a brief essay by Fisher, explaining the project. Also included are correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera relating to the ceremony marking the donation of the paintings.
The guide to the Ruth White Fisher Scrapbook by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).