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The Editorial of our Winter 2000 issue.
As we were closing this issue and preparing to go to press, the sad news came to us that our longtime colleague, Ruth Franklin, had unexpectedly passed away. Ruth's name has been on the masthead of this publication from the onset under the somewhat enigmatic title of Editorial Consultant, a term that does not even begin to describe the level of her involvement and commitment. Her contributions have included ongoing advice on editorial matters drawn from her encyclopedic fund of knowledge relating to tribal and ethnographic art and antiquities, as well as practical assistance with manuscripts based on her extensive experience as a professional editor. Along with her husband Marc, Ruth was a passionate student and collector of tribal art who had grave concerns about issues relating to cultural patrimony and the preservation of archaeological sites. Her views on these subjects were informed and balanced, and have strongly influenced the editorial perspective of this publication.
A few words can never adequately serve as a summation of the complex life of an individual, and in this case they fall woefully short of the mark. Ruth was born on December 21, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated magna cum laude from Radcliffe College in 1956 and received an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1958. She was an editorial assistant to The New Republic in Washington in 1958-59 and Assistant to the Dean of Columbia School of Journalism in 1959-62. From 1962-1966 she worked with Professor Carl Spaeth on the Stanford University Committee on International Studies. Later, between 1976-1985, she worked in various editorial capacities at Mother Jones Magazine, Inquiry Magazine, and San Francisco Magazine. In 1989 she began as Curator of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at Stanford University and was responsible for several important exhibitions, including: Classic Concepts in African Traditional Sculpture, 1991; Ulama: Game of Life and Death in Early Meso-America, 1994; Our Art, Our Voices: Native American Cultural Perspectives, 1995; and the installation of four galleries in the renovated museum which opened as the Cantor Arts Center in January of 1999. She edited several volumes on African art and was responsible for acquiring through purchase and gift numerous significant objects for the Cantor Arts Center's collections. In addition, she and Marc made many generous gifts to the Cantor Arts Center, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and the Brooklyn Museum. She passed away in San Francisco on Monday December 18, 2000, in the early morning. The cause of her death was complications from acute bacterial pneumonia.
As Ruth was a frequent contributor of ideas to this column, it seems an apt place for a memorial. The staff of this publication joins me in appreciation for her tireless dedication to our project. From a more personal perspective, she has been a remarkable mentor over the years as well as a valued friend who will be very sorely missed.
Jonathan Fogel