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Edwin C. “Ted” Rust Collection of Carl Milles Correspondence

 Collection
Identifier: 2014-09

Collection Scope

This collection of eight letters complements the collection of Milles’ correspondence. Milles, a prolific letter writer, often corresponded with students and remained friends with them for years after they left Cranbrook. These eight letters are typical and reflect Milles’ views on life, art, philosophy, and world politics.

Dates

  • 1935 - 1940

Creator

Access

Access to the collection is unrestricted.

Use

Permission to use collection materials must be requested in writing. Copyright has not been transferred to the Cranbrook Educational Community.

History

Edwin C. Rust was born 5 Dec 1910 in Hammonton, California. After graduating from Berkeley High School in California in 1929, Rust attended Deep Springs, an alternative liberal arts college in California's High Desert (1929-1932). He was awarded the Telluride Association scholarship to study architecture at Cornell University (1932-1934) and a second one to study sculpture at Yale University, from which he earned a BFA in sculpture in1936. In the summer of 1935 he attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art as a sculpture student, studying under Carl Milles.

From 1939-43 he was on the faculty, then became head of, the Fine Arts Department at William and Mary College. Drafted and turned down twice, Rust became Assistant Field Director for the American Red Cross in Fort Devens, Massachusetts. As the national director of the Arts and Skills Corps for the Red Cross, he taught art to servicemen in veterans’ hospitals. He then pursued a sculpting career in Brooklyn, New York until 1949.

In 1949, he became director of the Memphis Academy of Arts (now Memphis College of Art), where he served until 1975. Under his leadership, the college became the first integrated school in Memphis. Rust’s work as a sculptor includes bronze busts, outdoor sculptures, baptismal fonts, and relief work. He sculpted The Spirit of Virginia Rivers, for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Rust died on July 31, 2010 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Extent

0.2 Linear Feet (1 MS)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

In the summer of 1935 Ted Rust attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art as a sculpture student, studying under Carl Milles. This collection of eight letters complements the collection of Milles’ correspondence. Milles, a prolific letter writer, often corresponded with students and remained friends with them for years after they left Cranbrook. These eight letters are typical and reflect Milles’ views on life, art, philosophy, and world politics.

Arrangement

Eight letters chronologically arranged.

Acquisition

Donated by Stephen W. Skrainka.

Related Materials

Carl Milles Collection (1989-13)

George Gough Booth Papers (1981-01)

Kate Thompson Bromley Papers (1981-04)

Cranbrook Academy of Art Records (1998-05)

Cranbrook Foundation Office Records (1981-05)

Newell Hillis Arnold Papers (2005-09)

William Gehron Papers (2003-08)

Marguerite Kimball Papers (1991-03)

Carl and Olga Milles Papers, Archives of American Art-The Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (Microfilm)

Processing History

Cheri Y. Gay, 2015.

Title
Guide to the Edwin C. “Ted” Rust Collection of Carl Milles Correspondence
Status
Completed
Author
Cheri Y. Gay
Date
2015
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Edition statement
Resource record created by Laura MacNewman.

Repository Details

Part of the Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research Repository

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