Born in Butte, Montana in 1926, Rudy Autio spent most of his career working in his home state. During that time he earned the 1963 Tiffany Award in Crafts, the 1968 American Ceramic Society Art Award, a 1980 National Endowment for the Arts grant to work in Helsinki, Finland, and the inaugural Montana Governor’s Award in 1981.

In addition to the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Craft, his works can be found in the Smithsonian, the Portland Art Museum, the Wichita Art Museum, the Toledo Museum of Art, the Henry Gallery at University of Washington, and adorning public buildings all across Montana.