The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Heinz History Center, in collaboration with the Irving and Aaronel deRoy Gruber Foundation, launched a digital archive providing a behind-the-scenes look at Pittsburgh artist Aaronel deRoy Gruber.

The Aaronel deRoy Gruber Papers and Photographs digital collection has deRoy Gruber’s project files for more than 80 sculptures she created in the 1960s and 1970s. These files include notes, sketches, plans, invoices, worksheets and photographs for sculptures, providing a detailed look at how one artist conceived and created her art. The digital archive also reveals a world of local contractors and foundries responsible for bringing these ideas into reality.

“Thanks to the vision of the deRoy Gruber family and the Irving and Aaronel deRoy Gruber Foundation, we are able to share a great Pittsburgh story with the entire world,” said Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the center.

Aaronel deRoy Gruber (1918-2011) was an internationally recognized artist who spent her career in Pittsburgh. Starting as an abstract painter in the early 1950s, she moved into sculpture and photography over a 60-year career. Skilled in creating art with various materials, she became known as an innovator in acrylic as a sculptural medium. She exhibited in many one-person and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad.