Obituary for Ruth Snell MacDonald (Snell)
Ruth Snell MacDonald, 84, of Pleasantville, New York passed away Wednesday, February 3, 2021, at Yorktown Rehab & Nursing Center.
She was born June 11th, 1936 in Bronx, New York to the late Howard Engall and Estella Copperthwaite Snell.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ervin Douglas MacDonald II.
Her credentials include:
B.A., English/French, Houghton College
M.A., Teaching English as a Second Language, Teachers College, Columbia University
Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration, New York Botanical Garden
Awards / Accomplishments:
Beaux Arts Exhibit, Woman’s Club of Pleasantville, NY. 1st prize in graphics, 1996 & 2005
Beaux Arts Exhibit, Woman’s Club of Pocantico Hills, NY. 2nd prize in graphics, 1997 & 1999
3rd Annual Botanical Illustration Show, Denver Botanic Gardens. Honorable mention, 1999
Westchester County Federation of Woman’s Clubs 50th Annual Beaux Art Finale, 2nd prize in graphics, 1996
Ruth S. MacDonald was an accomplished botanical artist with numerous awards. She discovered her talent, as an adult, while working among the wildflowers and perennials in what used to be an old colonial road that the flowers were a palette and the intractable roadbed a canvas. She was a very active member of The American Society of Botanical Artist (ASBA); Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI). As one of her quotes, “….art is a celebration – whether it is the beauty of the human spirit amid the vicissitudes of everyday living, or whether, as in botanical art and illustration, it is the transient beauty of a flower or even a pernicious weed.”
She also had strong ties with Japan through her work as an Executive Administrator at Nippon Steel, U.S.A., located in New York City, as well as through her love of Japanese art. She said, “While I cannot claim the gifts of an artist like Hokusai, the celebrated Japanese wood-block artist whose favorite name was “old man crazy about painting,” I would not mind being called “old woman crazy about drawing.”
She will be missed greatly by her friend and son, Hiko Watanabe and his family, Francy, Taiji and Shunji.
She was born June 11th, 1936 in Bronx, New York to the late Howard Engall and Estella Copperthwaite Snell.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ervin Douglas MacDonald II.
Her credentials include:
B.A., English/French, Houghton College
M.A., Teaching English as a Second Language, Teachers College, Columbia University
Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration, New York Botanical Garden
Awards / Accomplishments:
Beaux Arts Exhibit, Woman’s Club of Pleasantville, NY. 1st prize in graphics, 1996 & 2005
Beaux Arts Exhibit, Woman’s Club of Pocantico Hills, NY. 2nd prize in graphics, 1997 & 1999
3rd Annual Botanical Illustration Show, Denver Botanic Gardens. Honorable mention, 1999
Westchester County Federation of Woman’s Clubs 50th Annual Beaux Art Finale, 2nd prize in graphics, 1996
Ruth S. MacDonald was an accomplished botanical artist with numerous awards. She discovered her talent, as an adult, while working among the wildflowers and perennials in what used to be an old colonial road that the flowers were a palette and the intractable roadbed a canvas. She was a very active member of The American Society of Botanical Artist (ASBA); Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI). As one of her quotes, “….art is a celebration – whether it is the beauty of the human spirit amid the vicissitudes of everyday living, or whether, as in botanical art and illustration, it is the transient beauty of a flower or even a pernicious weed.”
She also had strong ties with Japan through her work as an Executive Administrator at Nippon Steel, U.S.A., located in New York City, as well as through her love of Japanese art. She said, “While I cannot claim the gifts of an artist like Hokusai, the celebrated Japanese wood-block artist whose favorite name was “old man crazy about painting,” I would not mind being called “old woman crazy about drawing.”
She will be missed greatly by her friend and son, Hiko Watanabe and his family, Francy, Taiji and Shunji.