Rudy Autio

Rudy Autio
Born
Arne Rudolph Autio

(1926-10-08)October 8, 1926
DiedJune 20, 2007(2007-06-20) (aged 80)
NationalityAmerican
EducationMontana State University
Washington State University
Known forSculpture

Rudy Autio (October 8, 1926 – June 20, 2007) was an American sculptor, best known for his figurative ceramic vessels.

Rudio Autio was born Arne Rudolph Autio to a family of Finnish immigrants in Butte, Montana. As a child, he first learned to draw by taking evening classes from Works Progress Administration artists working in Butte. He served in the Navy for two years during World War II. After the war ended, he studied art at Montana State University (then Montana State College) in Bozeman, where he first met Peter Voulkos, who became a lifelong friend. Frances Senska taught both of them.[1] Autio earned a Master of Arts degree from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. In 1952, Autio was a founding resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation. In 1957, Autio started the ceramics department at the University of Montana, in Missoula.[2] He taught there for twenty-eight years and, until his death, he was retired as Professor Emeritus.[3] Autio died of leukemia in 2007.[4]

Autio's torso-shaped vessels are painted with figures and animals in a free linear style reminiscent of Matisse's drawings. They are found in permanent collections of museums around the world, including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Brooklyn Museum,[5] the Carnegie Museum of Art,[6] the Metropolitan Museum, the Montana Museum of Art and Culture,[7] the Museum of the Rockies,[8] the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,[9] the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, the Applied Arts Museum in Helsinki, the Canton Museum of Art,[10] the National Museum in Stockholm, the Portland Art Museum,[11] the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,[12] the University of Michigan Museum of Art,[13] the Chazen Museum of Art,[14] and the Missoula Art Museum.[15]

  1. ^ "Frances Senska - Art All The Time". Montana PBS. March 21, 1997. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved 2017-01-02.
  2. ^ "Research collections". Oral history interview with Rudy Autio, 1983 Oct. 10–1984 Jan. 28. Archives of American Art. 2011. Retrieved 18 Jun 2011.
  3. ^ "Rudy Autio". Montana Artists. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  4. ^ "Ceramic Artist Rudy Autio Dies of Leukemia at Age 80". The Montana Standard. Butte, MT. June 21, 2007. p. 5. Retrieved September 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "Brooklyn Museum". www.brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  6. ^ "CMOA Collection". collection.cmoa.org. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  7. ^ "Montana Museum of Art and Culture". www.umt.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  8. ^ Incorporated, Prime. "Stories Behind the Objects | Rudy Autio". Museum of the Rockies. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  9. ^ "Armington Stampede". art.nelson-atkins.org. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  10. ^ "Canton Museum of Art Collection". www.cantonartcollection.com. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  11. ^ "Woman, Fish, and Heron Vessel". portlandartmuseum.us. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  12. ^ "Rudy Autio: Untitled".
  13. ^ "Exchange: Atomic Cloud". exchange.umma.umich.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  14. ^ "New Accession Highlight: Cobalt Blues". Chazen Museum of Art. 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  15. ^ "Object Record".