Ruth Artmonsky, who has died aged 94, was a pioneer in the commercial use of psychometric testing. Together with her second husband, Roger Holdsworth, and their associate Peter Saville, she co-founded the consultancy Saville & Holdsworth (later SHL) in 1977. The business started in their living room and grew into a global corporation with offices in 30 countries.
From Social Work to Psychology
Ruth and her identical twin sister, Naomi, were born in Blackpool to Samuel Rudmanski, a customs and excise officer, and his wife, Marie (nee Cohen). Growing up, both girls immersed themselves in culture, playing piano duets, attending concerts, and reading the latest novels.
After attending Blackpool Collegiate school, Ruth earned a degree in economics and social work from Birmingham University. In the mid-1950s, she worked as a social worker at Wandsworth prison in south-west London. She later moved into an administrative role at the National Institute of Industrial Psychology (NIIP), where she gained insights into statistical and organizational psychology. She furthered her studies with a second degree in psychology at Birkbeck University of London, which led her to establish a careers and psychometric testing service for the Greater London Council in the early 1970s—an innovation at the time.
Founding a Global Consultancy
Following her divorce from her first husband, Norman Lancashire, in 1977, Ruth married Roger Holdsworth, who had also worked at the NIIP. They shared a conviction that personality assessments through psychometric testing could reveal key information about potential employees and help companies recruit more efficiently. This idea led to the founding of Saville & Holdsworth.
After selling her share in the company in 1997, Ruth used her self-taught knowledge of the arts to set up and run her own gallery, Artmonsky Arts, in St John's Wood, north London, for five years. She then turned to writing, producing 36 books about art, design, and advertising, including Designing Women (2012) and Modern Design in 1930s Britain (2026).
A Life in Art and Design
When Ruth and Roger divorced in 1997 and she started her art gallery, she wanted to change her name. She chose Artmonsky—the name given on her father's birth certificate due to a clerical error. Thereafter, she devoted herself to her longstanding interest in the arts.
Design was Ruth's passion, and she surrounded herself with it in her everyday life at her loft apartment in Covent Garden. An eye for quality and cutting-edge style guided her wardrobe choices. With her silver hair always smartly coiffed and her striking, statuesque figure, she became a familiar presence in the restaurants and cafes of the Henrietta Street area where she lived.
She is survived by her daughters, Becky and Stella, from her first marriage; a granddaughter, Sally; and her sister, Naomi.
