Ruth Faison Shaw was an art educator who developed a nontraditional educational perspective of teaching and a different vision about children's art. As such, she is considered by some to be the initiator of finger-painting in America (The History of Art Education Timeline 1930-1939, 2002.) Shaw developed the technique of finger-painting and a method for teaching it. Later, Shaw applied finger-painting to therapeutic uses. Finger-painting reached the height of its importance at the time of the Progressive Education Movement in the 1930s, and educators continued its successful application until the end of the 1960s. The work of Shaw and her finger-painting method should be understood and appreciated in context, according to the paradigms prevalent in her time. In this article, the author focuses on three aspects related to Ruth Faison Shaw and her finger-painting method: her personal and professional life; the context in which finger-painting was developed; and the use of finger-painting in education in the present days. (Contains 1 table.)