Ruth DeYoung Kohler II

DeYoung Kohler, who died in 2020, was director of Sheboygan's John Michael Kohler Arts Center from 1972 to 2016. Under her leadership, the JMKAC was recognized internationally as a leader in studying and preserving artist-built environments, such as the late Mary L. Nohl's home in Fox Point Wisconsin, as well as self-taught and vernacular artists. Ruth Kohler, a tireless champion of under-recognized artists and art forms, died on November 14, 2020 at her home in Kohler, WI. She was 79. Ruth Kohler believed passionately that the arts, in all its iterations, and was deeply committed to breaking down hierarchies within the mainstream arts world to engage with overlooked art forms and communities with limited access to arts experiences. Through her work at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Kohler Foundation Inc., National Endowment for the Arts, and the Wisconsin Arts Board, among others, she promoted equitable and inclusive access to the arts. After earning a bachelor of arts in art and art history at Smith College and pursuing further studies at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Hamburg, Kohler spent a year teaching art in Beloit, Wisconsin, public schools. She then joined the faculty at the University of Alberta-Calgary, Canada, where she founded the printmaking program. That was followed by more than a year in Spain working as an artist and exploring the region’s vernacular and Paleolithic art. Beginning in 1967, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center served as the main conduit for Kohler’s vision to embrace diversity, preserve culture, change perceptions, and expand knowledge through the arts. She served as the Arts Center’s director from 1972–2016, having started as a volunteer and holding the position of assistant director from 1968–1972. The Arts Center grew from a local arts center to an internationally recognized institution presenting contemporary art, the work of vernacular artists, performing arts, and the work of art-environment builders. She also was a major shareholder in privately held Kohler Co., which John Michael Kohler founded in 1873.