Billie Ruth Sudduth (American 1945) Signature Basket, circa 2003, cat’s head shape with red overlay, signed and dated on the bottom

Height 9.5 in. Width 10 in. Depth 10.5 in. Rim Diameter 6.5 in.

Billie Ruth’s baskets are now in the collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Art and Design in New York, Charles A Wustum Museum of Fine Art in Racine, Wisconsin, the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte, the Asheville Art Museum in North Carolina, and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Alabama. They are also included in corporate and private collections. Her highest honor came in 1997 when she was named a Living Treasure by the State of North Carolina. This award, presented to one craftsperson every other year, is the state’s highest honor in the field of crafts. She was the tenth recipient of this award and the first female to be honored.