Grandmother and granddaughter, bronze sculpture by Ruth Milles, signed R Rulle A:Son Millès
Ruth Anna Maria Anderson (1873-1941) was a Swedish sculptor, ceramist and poet. Sister of Carl Milles, she met up with him in Paris after his stay at Rodin's studio. Together, they founded a company dedicated to the sale of small bronze figurines. She spent many summers in Brittany, focusing on depictions of the Breton people. She took part in numerous international exhibitions (Saint-Louis in 1905, Buenos Aires in 1910 and the San Francisco World's Fair in 1915).
The work we present is typical of those inspired by Brittany. The figure of the grandmother, Bible in hand, surrounds the slender silhouette of the granddaughter holding her grandmother's hand. A moving testimony to the succession of generations, where the figure of the old lady, her head slightly bent by the weight of the years, reassures the shy expression of the child clinging to her grandmother.