A Creative Town

Painting of Savannah by Andre Ruellan

​Savannah is said to be a town of creatives. Savannah was recently voted the best place for creatives to live. This is largely due to a world renown Music Festival, Savannah College of Art and Design, Telfair Museums and other art organizations. But the fact is Savannah has been able to call themselves a home for creatives at other times too. For Example, During the early to the mid twentieth century with Telfair Academy established in 1886, the Savannah Art Club, and what I have termed Cotton Row Art Colony on Factor’s Walk the art community in Savannah was flourishing.
One of the examples of an artist who came for a period to enjoy and create here in Savannah was Andre Ruellen (April 6, 1905 – July 15, 2006). She painted in the realist style with a modernist touch. Her work would be collected by the Whitney Museum, New York, Phillips Collection, District of Columbia Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Philadelphia MOA, San Diego MOA, and Savannah’s own Telfair Museums. One of her first paintings to be bought by a museum was the Wind-Up a painting of Savannah bought by the Phillip’s Collection.
Andre Ruellen came to Savannah in 1941 with her husband painter and printer John Taylor. Taylor would teach printmaking at the Telfair Academy. When the couple first came to Savannah they went about town sketching things of interest to themselves. Observing them an over eager police officer thought the two may be spies and took them down to the police station. Alexander Brook, one of the Cotton Row painters and friend, came to their rescue and vouched for them. They were released.   Having said this the officer may not have been that far off. Ruellen who was of French descent had parents who were ardent socialists.
Ruellen who had been born in Manhattan had her first published work in the socialist magazine The Masses Ruellen found the American South of interest and would visit Georgia several times. Ruellen was a social realist painter at times. She looked at the South with an eye that would create paintings that would reflect a commentary about southern life. While in Savannah she created three paintings of Savannah scenes Savannah Landscape: City Market, The Wind-Up, and Savannah.  Two of these are in the Telfair Museums collection. John Taylor, her husband, has a print created during his printmaking classes at the Telfair that rests in the Museum’s collection.
Ruellen and her husband during her short stay could have had contact with two of Savannah’s more successful painters Christopher Murphey Jr. and Augusta Oelschig who had garnered national attention. But that year in Savannah either living or passing through would have been Edward Weston, Alexander Brook and his wife Gina Knee (a painter whose work can be found in the Phillip’s collection and Denver Art Museum to name two). Ruellen may have even had contact with two Savannah celebrities Harry Hervey who was writing screenplays for Hollywood and plays for New York was living here and maybe Johnny Mercer visited home while she was here.
Whatever the case there was an active arts community here in Savannah during her several weeks stay. Savannah has always been a city of artists and creatives. Today that tradition continues.

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The old City Market by Andre Ruellan

The Wind-Up By Andre Ruellan

Andre Ruellan