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Ruby C. Williams’ Bessie is Cool is characteristic of paintings she started creating to advertise her produce stand in Bealsville, FL. Williams grew up in the small town founded by freed enslaved people in 1865, including Williams’ great grandmother. Often depicting people, animals, and the produce she grows on her farm, Williams has stated that her work aims to make people happy. Bessie, the central figure in the composition, is painted in vibrant and surreal colors. A cow or cheetah-like creature created in Williams’ imagination, Bessie appears to happily graze the fields as we admire her stature and prominence.Label Type
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Ruby C. Williams is remembered as a renowned artist, dedicated Pastor, and community pillar of Beallsville, FL. Growing up in Florida, she would help work on her parents’ farm, memories that influence many subjects of her work. In a 2009 interview with Katherine Gibson, Williams recalls the times of her driving cows to sell for her family. On the drive, she would recognize the trees and personify them, giving them names, as she saw them as old friends. At her own produce stand and art gallery space, Williams created a living for herself with food, art, and religion. Her love of nature, God, and community is evident in inventive art that personifies, and humors the world.