Ruth Migdal opens the door to her Gold Coast apartment with a smile. She sports bright blue eyeshadow and gold hoop earrings. Inside, large abstract canvases line the walls. She and her husband, an archaeologist, have more than 6,000 books in their collection.
This is the home of an artist. A 90-year-old sculptor, in fact. And her newest piece, Red Tree Rising, is slated to be unveiled Thursday at a grand opening of the new 26,000-square-foot Wendelin Park, a privately developed mixed-income community with a public space in Lincoln Park that includes a nature play area, dog run, community garden and gathering areas.
Migdal has been sculpting for over 50 years, and creating art almost her entire life. Paper models of her sculptures sit on her center table, and miniature models of her large public works, which have been featured across the country, are stationed around the room.
Migdal’s most celebrated works include a common theme of the color red: red angels, red trees, red depictions of “strong circus” ladies. This persistent use of the bright, bold color is no coincidence.
“Why red?” she asks. “Because I want it to be seen.”
Migdal, who was born in 1932 in a Jewish immigrant neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side, said her work is “all fight,” a reflection of a childhood growing up with immigrant parents who “preferred boys.” She recalled that as a child, her twin brother would come home from school and say, “I’m smarter than you.” In response, Migdal recalled saying “‘No, you’re not.’”
“And I’ve been fighting ever since,” she said firmly. “I went through school showing all the smart boys that I was smarter.”
As she made her way through school, she took advantage of the cultural opportunities that came her way, attending the opera, ballet and theater performances at the opera house, according to her biography. She received an education at the Art Institute of Chicago and did volunteer work at concession stands before performances.
Migdal’s paintings and wood sculptures were abstract until 1971 when she began exploring the female figure. She now works in bronze and steel, creating large abstracted figurative sculptures.
“Never had a date, let me tell you,” she joked. “But this is about independence and freedom. My new pieces are about what the Supreme Court has done to us. We’re now second-class citizens.”
Migdal’s work hasn’t always been political. That started to change after a 1968 Chicago peace march, during which she recalled “the police kept pushing us closer and closer together. And finally they start attacking us with their clubs.”
“From then on, I got more involved,” she said. “That’s what made me very aware.”
Her art became a political voice.
“My work is a call to women. It’s time to vote. We must vote and fight,” she said.
Another common theme in Migdal’s work is the presence of trees.
“Trees are like women,” she said. “They have roots that go deep into the ground. They have a body and then they have these branches that go up. And to me, trees are women. And trees are so beautiful. Trees are powerful. And so are women.”
With anticipation building around the celebration of her latest public piece, Migdal hopes that people pay attention to the development in which it stands. “It’s fabulous,” she said. “It has housing for rich, poor, and kids who just want a place to stay. It’s got a garden, a park — where my sculpture is — and has a dog playground. So it’s a real community.”
The Wendelin Park development from Chicago-based Structured Development, on which Migdal’s newest sculpture sits, includes three residential buildings that meet a diverse range of income needs, including affordable housing.
Along with an unbridled passion for her art and the liberation of women, Migdal carries a firm realism. “Being a Depression baby, I had no illusions about making any money as an artist,” she said. “And I was right. I never did. I barely make enough to make another sculpture. In fact, right now, I’ve spent all my money making this one. And, I don’t know, if they don’t buy it, I won’t have money for next year.”
Over the course of her storied career, Migdal always had a day job, teaching at Malcolm X College and Harold Washington College. She even held a stint as a public school teacher in Puerto Rico earning $90 per month.
“Per month,” she repeated, raising her tinted blue eyebrows.
“I’m good at a lot of things where I could make money,” she said. “But I’m not interested. This is what I want to do … So, I just do it.”
Afternoon Briefing
Weekdays
Chicago Tribune editors’ top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon.
When reflecting on what has kept her painting into her 9th ninth decade, her reasoning was simple: “I love it.”
Overlooking the city’s landscape, 37 stories in the air, Migdal stood in the midst of a lifetime of artwork. Gazing at a bronze sculpture reminiscent of a woman’s figure, Migdal cracked a smile, “You might ask why do I put breasts on the back?”
“Because women are never finished.”
