Ruth Atkinson Holmes
{{Short description|American painter and philanthropist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ruth Atkinson Holmes
| birth_name = Ruth Miller
| birth_date = 1909
| birth_place = Hazlehurst, Mississippi, U.S.
| death_date = December 5, 1981
| death_place = McComb, Mississippi, U.S.
| education = Mississippi University for Women
Mississippi College
Tulane University
Southwest Mississippi Junior College
| occupation = Painter, philanthropist
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- F. C. Atkinson
- Louie M. Holmes
}}
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
}}
Ruth Atkinson Holmes (1909 - December 5, 1981) was an American painter and philanthropist. She was a member of the "Summit Trio" in Summit, Mississippi in the 1960s.
Life
Holmes was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in 1909.{{cite book |last1=Black |first1=Patti Carr |title=The Mississippi Story |date=2007 |publisher=Mississippi Museum of Art |location=Jackson, Mississippi |isbn=9781887422147 |oclc=86090473 |pages=37–38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D932HeqCSxgC&q=%22Ruth+Atkinson+Holmes%22&pg=PA38}}{{cite news |title=Rites Monday for Ruth A. Holmes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/318490584/?terms=%22Ruth%2BAtkinson%2BHolmes%22 |accessdate=February 15, 2020 |work=Enterprise-Journal |location=McComb, Mississippi |date=December 6, 1981|page=1|via=Newspapers.com}} She was educated at the Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi College, Tulane University, and Southwest Mississippi Junior College.
Holmes became an encaustic painter in her spare time.{{cite news |title=Summit Artists To Hold Baton Rouge Show |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/252054103/?terms=%22Halcyone%2BBarnes%22 |accessdate=February 15, 2020 |work=Enterprise-Journal |location=McComb, Mississippi |date=January 29, 1958|page=1|via=Newspapers.com}} In the 1960s, she began exhibiting her work with Bess Phipps Dawson and Halcyone Barnes in Summit, Mississippi. The three artists became known as the "Summit Trio."{{cite news |title=Ruth Holmes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/279211349/?terms=%22Ruth%2BAtkinson%2BHolmes%22 |accessdate=February 15, 2020 |work=Hattiesburg American |location=Hattiesburg, Mississippi |date=December 6, 1981|page=2|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=McComb pays tribute |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/315984380/?terms=%22Ruth%2BAtkinson%2BHolmes%22 |accessdate=February 15, 2020 |work=The Clarksdale Press Register |location=Clarksdale, Mississippi |date=December 7, 1981|page=2|via=Newspapers.com}} Holmes donated art to the Mississippi Museum of Art, and African artwork to Delta State University.
Holmes was married twice: first to F. C. Atkinson, with whom she had a son, and secondly to Louie M. Holmes. She resided in Summit with her first husband and in McComb with her second husband, where she died on December 5, 1981. Her funeral was held at the J.J. White Memorial Presbyterian Church.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Ruth Atkinson}}
Category:People from Hazlehurst, Mississippi
Category:People from Summit, Mississippi
Category:People from McComb, Mississippi
Category:Mississippi University for Women alumni
Category:Mississippi College alumni
Category:Painters from Mississippi
Category:Philanthropists from Mississippi
Category:Tulane University alumni
Category:20th-century American painters
Category:20th-century American philanthropists
Category:20th-century American women painters
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