West Aurora Hall of Honor Interview, Barbara Ford McQuiston, Nov. 3, 2006Mike Meyer6 min 1 sec - Dec 8, 2006West Aurora High School students interview Barbara Ford McQuiston and her three daughters. McQuiston is the daughter of distinguished alumna Ruth VanSickle Ford, class of 1915.
As a young wife and mother in Aurora, Ruth Vansickle Ford studied, painted and worked as a commercial illustrator. Recognition came when, in 1921, her work was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1930 Ruth began teaching at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Later, during the Great Depression, she purchased the school with money borrowed from friends. Two of her most famous Chicago students were Walt Disney and Bill Mauldin, who later became a legendary political cartoonist.
Ford exhibited her work widely, garnering numerous awards, including prestigious gold and silver medals. Her watercolors and oils are to be found in many museums and private collections, including the Smithsonian Institution. Ford died in 1989, leaving as a legacy large body of her work and the hundreds of artists that she trained across the nation. Her paintings can be found locally at the Aurora Public Library, Aurora University and the Old Second National Bank of Aurora.
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