Ruthann Perry of Lawrenceville, New Jersey passed away on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, after a brief illness. Born in Massapequa, NY, she was a long-time resident of the Lawrenceville area. She was 72. She is survived by her husband Thomas and her daughter Kyle Elizabeth, now of Philadelphia.

Ruthann was an artist and retired art teacher who taught at St. Paul School of Princeton and at her own Maidenhead Studio in Lawrenceville, in addition to running summer art camps and occasionally teaching classes as a visiting artist at area schools.

Drawn to found object sculpture, Ruthann saw the potential for art—or if not “art,” then fun—in the quotidian, the overlooked, the disposed of. There was never a dumpster not worth inspecting, should it yield a tossed-off object and inspiration. She enjoyed teaching children who freely accepted that art was fun.

Ruthann was attracted to animals of all kinds, but especially horses, which were muses for much of her art, and one horse in particular, Ollie, whom she co-owned for many years. Although she had two cats, Lucy and Pye, she kept dog treats on the kitchen counter for neighborhood dogs being walked and she felt it her responsibility to put out seed for the birds as if they just might not survive if she didn’t.

She was also innately social. When the country club golf course behind the backyard sponsored their Fourth of July fireworks, she invited the entire neighborhood over for potluck dinners to watch the show, and with everyone there would make sure to introduce any recent newcomers to their new neighbors.

Ruthann was an enthusiastic novice archeologist who loved to literally dig up the past, “mudlarking” along the Thames in London—searching for and finding historical artifacts like centuries-old clay pipes, bottles, pottery shards, coins, buckles—volunteering at a Roman villa dig in Piddington, England, and hunting around historical sites in the woods closer to home and alongside an old quarry behind the family summer cottage on Vinalhaven Island in Maine. And she was always happy to have others join her, wellies often required.

Prior to living in New Jersey, Ruthann lived in New York City and worked at the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Public Theater, the McHugh-Rollins Studio, where she built props for Broadway productions including the original Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, and as a prop person for Late Night with David Letterman and set dresser for Saturday Night Live.

She was a frequent volunteer at Homefront, dedicated to helping families facing homelessness and poverty, in Lawrenceville.

Her sculpture is represented by the Morpeth Contemporary Gallery in Hopewell, NJ.

Daughter of the late Daniel Muscara and Alice Garlo, she is also survived by her siblings Daniel Muscara, Jr., Marybeth Muscara, Donna Hobby, Alice Ireland, and Bill Muscara, and many nieces, nephews, neighbors, and friends.  She will be missed by all, particularly the neighborhood dogs and birds.

A memorial gathering will be held on Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 4 PM at Morpeth Contemporary, 43 West Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ. https://www.morpethcontemporary.com/contact

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to HomeFront in Lawrenceville, NJ, dedicated to helping families facing homelessness and poverty. homefrontnj.org

To send a condolence to the family or for directions, please visit www.poulsonvanhise.com