Ruth Freeman

1911 – 2001

BIO

Ruth Freeman’s cosmopolitan upbringing took her from her birth country of Canada to Berlin, Paris, Brussels, the Czech Republic and London where she attended the Slade School of Fine Art. During World War II Freeman worked for the War Office mapping department that enabled her to learn the dexterity of fine line drawing. Following the war, Freeman became one of just a few female fashion illustrators working for Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, The Evening Standard, The Observer and Harrods. She attended the haute couture fashion collections in Paris and was present at the opening of Christian Dior’s inaugural New Look collection in 1947. For over 30 years Freeman gracefully illustrated fashion from the elegant grand couture of Norman Hartnell and Balenciaga to the revolutionary designs of BIBA and Courrèges.