Personal Papers
Ruth Asawa’s personal papers are housed at Stanford University Libraries. For information regarding access, please email your request to specialcollections@stanford.edu.
Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, CA
Online Archive of California Finding Aid
Books/Catalogs
Photo by Hank Baum
Ruth Asawa and the Artist-Mother at Midcentury. Troeller, Jordan. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2025.
Ruth Asawa: Retrospective. Exhibition catalogue. Bishop, Janet and Cara Manes, et al. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2025.
Ruth Asawa, An Artist Takes Shape. Sam Nakahira. Santa Monica, CA: Getty Publications. 2024.
Ruth Asawa: All Is Possible. Molesworth, Helen, with contributions by Makeda Best, Taylor Davis, Ruth Erickson, Briony Fer, Jennifer L. Roberts, and John Yau. New York, NY: David Zwirner Books, 2022.
Ruth Asawa: Citizen of the Universe. Ridgway, Emma, Salthe, Vibece, Åsebø, Sigrun, Blakinger, John R.,and Pringle, Emily. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson. 2022
Everything She Touched, The life of Ruth Asawa. Chase, Marilyn. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2020.
Ruth Asawa: Life’s Work. D’Souza, Aruna, Helen Molesworth and Tamara H. Schenkenberg. St. Louis, MO: Pulitzer Arts Foundation and New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2019.
Ruth Asawa. Bell, Tiffany and Robert Storr. New York, NY: David Zwirner Books, 2018.
Leap Before You Look. Molesworth, Helen and Ruth Erickson. Boston, MA: Institute of Contemporary Art and New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 2016.
Ruth Asawa: Line by Line. Exhibition catalogue. Storr, Robert and Jonathan Laib. New York, NY: Christie’s, 2015.
Ruth Asawa: Objects & Apparitions. Yau, John, Jonathan Laib and Nicholas F. Weber. New York, NY: Christie’s, 2013.
The Sculpture of Ruth Asawa: Contours in the Air. Cornell, Daniel, et al. San Francisco, CA: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and University of California Press. 2006.
The Arts at Black Mountain College. Harris, Mary Emma. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 1987.
Interviews
Art, Competence, and Citywide Cooperation for San Francisco. Bancroft Library Interview. 1980, 220 pp. Interview with Harriet Nathan.
Oral History Interview with Ruth Asawa and Albert Lanier. Archives of American Art. 2002 June 21-July 5. Interview with Mark Johnson and Paul Karlstrom.
Films
Ruth Asawa: On Form and Growth, Dir. Robert Snyder. Masters and Masterworks Productions Inc., 1978. Running time is 30 minutes, grades 7 and up. ISBN: 1-55974-530-4.
Articles
“Ruth Asawa’s Most Valuable Work Isn’t On View at a Museum.”
The San Francisco Standard, Feher, Erin. May 18, 2025.
“Ruth Asawa’s Astonishing Universe Began at Her Door.” The New York Times, Sheets, Hilarie M. April 4, 2025.
“SFMOMA’s Ruth Asawa Retrospective Honors the Patron Saint of San Francisco Arts.” KQED, Hotchkiss, Sarah. April 3, 2025.
“Why Are We Still Talking About Black Mountain College?” The New York Times T Magazine, Fortini, Amanda. July 7,2022.
“Productive Tensions: Kaelen Wilson-Goldie on the art of Ruth Asawa.” Artforum, Wilson-Goldie, Kaelen. May 2022.
“The Japanese-American Sculptor Who, Despite Persecution, Made Her Mark” La Force, Thessaly. The New York Times T Magazine, July 20, 2020.
Photo by Glen Christiansen
“Are All-Women Shows Good or Bad for Art?” Cotter, Holland. The New York Times, March 16, 2016.
“Maker to Market: Ruth Asawa Reappraised.” Archer, Sarah. The Journal of American Craft, Vol. 8, Issue 2, July 2015, pp. 141-154.
“14 Women Who’ve Changed the Way We Think About Design.” Brooks, Katherine. The Huffington Post, June 25, 2015.
“Ruth Asawa, an Artist Who Wove Wire, Dies at 87.” Martin, Douglas. The New York Times, August 17, 2013.
“SPARK Educator Guide: Ruth Asawa.” KQED. SPARK Program 314. Accessed 2016-03-08.
Contact us to obtain a more complete bibliography and list of exhibitions >