Rudolph Ruzicka was a good friend of Earl Brewster from art student days, attended their 1910 wedding in New Haven,  visited the Brewsters in Anticoli Corrado at Christmas 1913 (came out from Rome, where he'd been working), and on at least one occasion made them a gift of several of his works. The families stayed in touch for decades, even after Earl and Achsah's death. At least once RR offered to lend them money. Earl refused, but did seek RR's advice from time to time as to whether a certain art project might be financially remunerative. (Generally not.) Earl great admired RR's work, and was very generous in his praise.

Lucy

>>> Kari A Ronning <[log in to unmask]> 12/15/09 10:02 AM >>>

The mention of Rudolph Ruzicka interested me because he designed the jacket
cover for Sapphira and the Slave Girl; I hadn't known of his connection
with Lewis and the Brewsters.

      Kari



                                                                       
             Melissa Homestead                                         
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All,

More on the Brewster paintings -- in Lewis's will, these paintings were to
be divided between Harwood Brewster and Rudolph Ruzicka. Ruzicka was a
friend of the Brewsters from their art school days in New York, and was
Lewis's very close friend as well. Also in that batch of paintings to be
divided were paintings by Fred Shaler, another art school friend. I believe
that it is his paintings of Capri that are referred to by Elizabeth Shepley
Sergeant in her memoir when she describes Lewis and Cather's Park Avenue
apartment, not Brewster paintings.

Melissa J. Homestead
Susan J. Rosowski Associate Professor of English &
Program Faculty in Women's & Gender Studies
Interim Director of the Cather Project (Fall 09)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
202 Andrews Hall
Lincoln, NE 68588-0333
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http://www.unl.edu/english/faculty/profs/mhomestead.html
(402) 472-0323

Vice President for Membership & Finance
Society for the Study of American Women Writers
www.ssaww.org