Ruth Graham had many God-given talents, one of which was the art of drawing. She loved to keep notebooks, which she made with stationery from the hospital where her father, Dr. L. Nelson Bell, served. These notebooks were filled with different images and tidbits about her daily life.
Ruth’s talent for art did not go long unnoticed by her family. Her father wrote in a letter to his mother, “Our Ruth has real artistic talent. For a long time we knew she was clever with drawing, but recently shows remarkable talent.”
Painting titled “Miss Painted, Lopside” by then Ruth Bell, July 7, 1933
Ruth loved to draw people, but she also enjoyed painting flowers.
A colorful picture of flowers drawn by then Ruth Bell with her signature “Ruth M. Bell, August 15-16-17, 1934
When Ruth married Billy Graham, she continued to paint and sketch, whether on canvas or a simple piece paper pulled from a notebook.
Sketch of Billy Graham (from behind), drawn by Ruth Bell Graham
To see more of Ruth’s art, visit the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C. For more information and to plan to your visit, go to www.billygrahamlibrary.org.