Painting Indiana III: Heritage of Place

By Indiana Plein Air Painters Association, Inc. and Indiana Landmarks

“A visual testament to the quiet, past-haunted beauty of the Indiana environment, both natural and man-made.” —Bloom

The work of T. C. Steele, William Forsyth, J. Ottis Adams, Otto Stark, and Richard Gruelle, known collectively as the Hoosier Group, established plein air (“in the open air”) painting as a major art form in Indiana. The vitality of this style is represented in Painting Indiana III: Heritage of Place, which includes one hundred juried works by current Indiana plein air artists, along with paintings by the Hoosier Group, all featuring notable Indiana landmarks. This richly illustrated book will delight Hoosiers and art lovers around the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jun 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9780253008695

Book preview

Heritage of Place

Painting

INDIANA III

Indiana Plein Air Painters Association, Inc. and Indiana Landmarks

Text by Rachel Berenson Perry

This book is a publication of

Quarry Books

an imprint of

Indiana University Press

Office of Scholarly Publishing

Herman B Wells Library 350

1320 East 10th Street

Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA

iupress.indiana.edu

Telephone orders    800-842-6796

Fax orders                812-855-7931

© 2013 by Indiana Plein Air Painters Association, Inc.

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses' Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Manufactured in China

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Perry, Rachel Berenson.

Painting Indiana III : heritage of place / Indiana Plein Air Painters Association, Inc. and Indiana Landmarks ; text by Rachel Berenson Perry.—1st [edition].

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-253-00852-7 (cl : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-253-00869-5 (eb) 1. Indiana—In art. 2. Landscape painting, American—Indiana—21st century. 3. Plein air painting—Indiana. I. Indiana Plein Air Painters Association. II. Indiana Landmarks. III. Title. IV. Title: Painting Indiana 3. V. Title: Painting Indiana three.

ND1351.7.P47 2013

758'.177209772—dc23                                                                                            2012025290

1  2  3  4  5  18  17  16  15  14  13

Sponsors

GRANTS

Sarah and John Lechleiter

Efroymson Family Foundation

Indiana Arts Commission

SPONSORSHIPS

Dr. George and Mrs. Peggy Rapp

Golden Easel

David and Catherine Martin

Jeff and Judy Ray

Turner Woodard and The Stutz Business Center

Silver Brush

Bruce and Julie Buchanan

William L. Fortune, Jr. & Joseph D. Blakley

Ronald and Dottie Mack

Richard McKnight

John and Gaye Rardon

Pat Garrett Rooney

Mary Sutherland and Jack Steffee

Bud and Donna Tackett

Jim and Connie Vinton

Painting Sponsor

Fritz and Leslie Adelsperger

Sarah C. Barney

Ron and Jody Burgess

Stephen Butler and Linda Ronald

Marsh and Grace Davis

Charles and Mary Ann Davis

Steve Dawson, Harrell-Fish Inc.

Brenda and Jim DeCoursey

In Memory of Evan Dunbar

Fine Estate Art and Rugs

Chris Newlund and Beth Forst

Don and June Goodwin

Mrs. Carolyn J. (Eppihimer) Greer

Bob and Ellie Haan

C. William and Margaret Hanke

Ruth W. Johnson

Jeff Klinker

Julia and Andre B. Lacy

CW and Rebecca Mundy

Kent and Laurie Parker

Steve and Lisa Pfenninger

Dr. and Mrs. John Rapp

Steven J. Redman Art Restoration

David P. Whitman and Donna L. Reynolds

Richmond Art Museum

Doris and Tom Stump

Randall Tucker

Mark and Andra Walters

Melanie and Bill Wissel

Other Donations

Charles and Lucinda Oehrle

Mrs. Ronie Lewis

David Wolf, DDS

CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Judge's Comments

Introduction

1 A Condensed History of Landscape Painting

2 The First Generation of Hoosier Plein Air Painters

3 The Second Generation of Hoosier Plein Air Painters

4 Recent History of Plein Air Painting in Indiana

5 The Current Plein Air Painting Phenomenon

6 The Future of Plein Air Painting

Gallery of Paintings with Artists' Captions

About the Artists

Notes

Foreword

From its earliest days to the present, the great tradition of outdoor painting in Indiana has featured places of historical and architectural character as adjuncts, if not equal partners, to the natural landscape. In that spirit, Indiana Landmarks joins forces with the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association in presenting Painting Indiana III which captures that spirit of healthy interplay between historic places and nature, rendered in the exceptional art featured in this book.

This project also fostered an interaction between visual artists and historic preservationists. Several of the places depicted in the 100 images were suggested by Indiana Landmarks's network of nine regional offices, staffed by professionals who know Indiana's historic resources like no other group.

If there's a higher purpose for Indiana Landmarks's involvement in this project beyond its numerous artistic attributes, it can be found in our conviction that Painting Indiana III will lead to a greater appreciation for the historic places that enrich Indiana's landscape and that, as a result, Hoosiers will be all the more motivated to preserve them.

Marsh Davis                              

President, Indiana Landmarks

Acknowledgments

It all began with a dinner at the Indianapolis Columbia Club in October 2009. The idea of a third book about plein air painting (on location, outdoors) in Indiana emerged as an important goal for the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association (IPAPA). One of the board members, Richard McKnight, who also sits on the board of directors of Indiana Landmarks, a historic preservation organization, proposed a project that would use plein air paintings to document some of Indiana's historical places. A collaboration between the two organizations seemed like a good fit.

IPAPA has been involved with two previous book projects—Painting Indiana: Portraits of Indiana's 92 Counties (Indiana University Press, 2000) and Painting Indiana II: The Changing Face of Agriculture (Indiana University Press, 2006). Of all the people we have to acknowledge and thank for this project, we must begin with the founders of IPAPA, Anne Carter and Dan Woodson, who established the organization as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit entity so they could raise funds for the first Painting Indiana book. Without their foresight and hard work, IPAPA would not exist, and the many important projects accomplished so far would not have been possible.

IPAPA is fortunate to currently have an engaged board of directors. Shaun Dingwerth, Richard McKnight, and I serve as nonartist board members. Artists Laura Appleby, Mary Ann Davis, Beth Forst, Corrine Hull, Chris Newlund, and Rick Wilson also served for most of the duration of this project. Artist Virginia Kramer was on the board when the project began, and artists Ron Burgess and Jeff Klinker joined the board in 2012. My thanks go to all of these individuals for their tireless efforts.

IPAPA is also lucky to have Rachel Berenson Perry as a member and a friend. Rachel recently retired as the chief curator of cultural history at the Indiana State Museum and is a longtime member of IPAPA. When she expressed an interest in writing the text for the book, we quickly agreed to her offer.

As a result of the success of the first two books, Indiana University Press was open to the idea of a third IPAPA publication. Mary Ann Davis and Rachel Perry presented the proposal to the press's director, Janet Rabinowitch, and a memorandum of agreement was signed in February 2010. We are grateful to other staff members at the press who have been instrumental in bringing the project to fruition: sponsoring editor Linda Oblack, and Peter Froelich, who was the assistant sponsoring editor in the spring of 2010.

Richard McKnight, Rachel Perry, and I then met with Indiana Landmarks president Marsh Davis and the vice president of development at that time, Andra Walters. We drafted a preliminary budget that was presented to the Indiana Landmarks board, and a signed memorandum of understanding resulted in May 2010.

Once the collaborators' commitments were secured, creating the parameters and logistics for the project and promoting it to all IPAPA artist members, became crucial. Although the participating artists were preselected for the first two books, this project would be different. We wanted to choose 100 of the best plein air paintings of historically significant places submitted by any IPAPA member. Artists were given eighteen months to paint so that all four seasons would ideally be represented.

This proved to be one of the difficulties for the artists, who found it challenging to keep their finished paintings for an extended period of time. One of the paintings selected for the book was created in April 2010 at New Harmony. To put back a painting (that could possibly have been sold) and risk rejection in the final jurying process for a book eighteen months later demonstrates much dedication.

Indiana Landmarks's regional offices throughout the state provided lists of potential painting subjects, which were incorporated into the Web site dedicated to the project. Many of the paintings selected for the book were created during paint-outs organized during the time frame of the project.

Many thanks go to the people who organized and implemented these paint-outs. Todd Zeiger, director of Indiana Landmarks' northern regional office in South Bend, was especially helpful in planning paint-out events tied to historic sites in the northern part of the state. George and Peggy Rapp organized another successful First Brush of Spring paint-out in New Harmony, which has been an annual event since 1998. They marshal the entire town's participation to host more than 125 artists for five days of workshops and paint-out activities. Thanks go to Maggie Rapp, director of New Harmony's Hoosier Salon Gallery, which serves as the event's nerve center, and to Zona Phelps, who's the glue that sticks together all of Rapp's ambitious projects. Particularly valuable in implementing the New Harmony paint-out were Brenda Butman, Nancy Manchette, Barb and Mick McConnell, Ann and Bob Scarafia, Karen Walker, Gayle Williams, and Bill and Pat Wilson, as well as Judy Johnson at the New Harmony Inn.

During the book project, another special paint-out was held at Easley Winery in Indianapolis. A special thank you goes to Tom and Mary Anne Butters and Meredith Easley for being hosts for the city paint-out on a very hot summer day.

IPAPA members look forward every year to the fall paint-out in Brookville, Indiana. A large part of our plein air heritage began in Brookville, and a pilgrimage to the Hermitage is an event on every Hoosier plein air painter's bucket list. Franklin County circuit court judge Steve Cox was an excellent host for this event, along with Melody Gault at the Franklin County public library.

Although not IPAPA sponsored, the spring and fall paint-outs at the T. C. Steele Historic Site outside Nashville, Indiana, are traditionally well attended by IPAPA members. Thank you to Andrea deTarnowsky and her staff for hosting two first-class events every year.

A new paint-out in 2011, sponsored by the Richmond Art Museum in Richmond, Indiana, also included the Ohio Plein Air Society (OPAS). Thank you to executive director Shaun Dingwerth, education director Lance Crow, and the members of the Richmond Art Museum board of directors, especially Sally Toschlog, for this well-attended event.

Thanks to Sandra Hass and the Southern Shore Art Association for inviting IPAPA members to a special paint-out event at the Indiana Dunes State Park in August 2011. A lot of good artwork was produced, and some of it made its way into this book. An annual paint-out at the Art Museum of Lafayette also took place. Thanks to executive director Kendall Smith II and to Glenda McClatchey for putting together these events. A very special thanks goes to Rick Wilson, who served on the