Analysis of Art
Beauty and denial of aging
Most of her works portrayed women – even male subjects appeared feminine. Ruth was fixated on feminine beauty, and being a beautiful woman herself, she was tormented when older age took its toll. Despite this, she portrayed beautiful women until her death. Ruth once remarked that she would draw the eyes until they started blinking at her.
Religion and salvation from terror
Judaism was important to Ruth, who tried to live her life according to conservative values. Her first breakdown set her life on a trajectory of spiritual terror. Her mounting paranoia found expression through Judaism and her fascination with the Kabbalah. As her condition worsened, Ruth started believing that religious persons were plotting against her and cursing her life. At the same time, she clung to Judaism in a desperate attempt to protect her life and achieve her dreams. As a result, many of her religious works depict paranoid women in religious contexts.
Family and broken dreams
After she divorced, Ruth became fixated on marriage; however, every promising marriage offer triggered another nervous breakdown – she never remarried. Dissatisfied with her married name, she occasionally used her maiden name Sniderman; when combining it with the short form of her name, she signed her works Ruth or Ruthie, and Cugelman or Sniderman. Her last work, an incomplete canvas with a pencilled outline, depicted a mother holding her child.
Nature
She spent considerable time rendering natural scenes, with a particular focus on flowers and fish. Since the majority of her natural works are in paper pads, it is likely that many of these images were exercises.