Schnee, Ruth Adler, 1923-

Ruth Adler was born in Frankfurt, May 13, 1923. Her family later moved to Düsseldorf, where they were neighbors to Paul Klee, one of Adler's first artistic influences. Her mother, Marie Adler, attended the Bauhaus and was also an influence. The family moved to Detroit in 1939. She graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1942 and the Rhode Island School of Design in 1945. After working briefly for industrial designer Raymond Loewy, she returned to Michigan to attend the Cranbrook Art Academy, from which she graduated in 1946. In 1947 Adler won a prize in a Chicago Tribune contest that started her on a career of textile design. She was married to Edward Schnee, a 1941 Yale graduate with a degree in economics, in 1948. She has won numerous awards for textile design throughout her career and her associates have included Ray and Charles Eames, Buckminster Fuller, Minoru Yamasaki, Louis Redstone, and Eero Saarinen. Along with Schnee's work in fabric and interior space design, the couple owned and operated a design and retail establishment in Detroit. The Schnees sold the store, Adler/Schnee, building and name, in 1977 and continued working as interior design and space consultants under the name Schnee & Schnee. Schnee's designs have been reproduced by textile companies ICF/Unika Vaev and Anzea. She has exhibited and lectured extensively over the years as a leading proponent and creator of mid-century modern design. Edward Schnee died in Sept. 1, 2000 in Southfield, Michigan.

From the description of Edward and Ruth Adler Schnee papers. 1942-2009 (Cranbrook Academy of Art Library). WorldCat record id: 741310340

Ruth Adler Schnee, 1923-, textile artist of Southfield, Mich.

The interviewer, Anita Schnee, is her daughter, Fayetteville, Ark.

From the description of Oral history interview with Ruth Adler Schnee, 2002 Nov. 24-30 [sound recording]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 84415863