The Hoosier Group


Book Description

The lives and works of Otto Stark, Theodore C. Steele, J. Ottis Adams, William Forsyth, and Richard B. Gruelle.




Regional Visions


Book Description




Painting Indiana


Book Description

"This masterful work isn't a run-of-the-mill coffee table book—it's far more than that. The subject depicting each county might be a farm or a village or an urban scene, it might be a view of the state's many woodlands, lakes and rivers. Put together in one collection, it's a book that every Hoosier—as well as any lover of charming art work—will cherish." —The Courier Journal, Louisville Painting Indiana, published in 2000 to popular acclaim and now available in paperback, represents the best work of a group of contemporary Hoosier landscape painters. It was commissioned by the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association to document the beauty of the state of Indiana at the turn of the new millennium. Each of the five artists was assigned a group of counties; all 92 counties are represented in the book. These present-day painters are inspired by the same vision as the renowned Hoosier Group, which included artists such as T. C. Steele and J. Ottis Adams, who painted Indiana at the close of the 19th and into the early part of the 20th centuries. There is great variety in these portraits of Indiana: traditional landscapes, village and urban scenes, the woodland dream, lakes and rivers, all offering a rich mixture of scenes and styles worthy of a complex and beautiful state. The artists comment briefly on their work, and Earl L. Conn provides short histories of each county.




The House of the Singing Winds


Book Description

T.C. Steele's appreciation of nature, combined with his intelligence and capacity for concentrated study, raised his works to an extraordinary level. This story of his life and work in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is an indispensible chapter in the art and cultural history of Indiana, the Midwest, and the nation. This revised edition of the 1966 classic includes 74 full color Steele paintings from the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, the Indiana University Museum of Art, and private collectors from around the state. These paintings, many of which have never been published, demonstrate the importance of Steele to the art world - in his time and in ours.




T.C. Steele & the Society of Western Artists, 1896-1914


Book Description

"Chronicles the Society of Western Artists from its inception to its last sponsored exhibit. Comprised of top artists from Indianapolis, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, the annual traveling exhibition enhanced the stature of the artists' work through exposure to a wider public and by garnering reviews in the nation's art periodicals. A founding and active member of the organization, Hoosier Group artist T.C. Steele executed some of his best landscape works during the years the Society was active. ... Examines Steele's thoughts on plein air painting, his role as a catalyst for the development of regional Midwest impressionism and the Brown County Art Colony, his painting techniques, and his unwavering devotion to nature."--Back cover.




The Hoosier Group


Book Description




Painting Indiana III


Book Description

“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.




Hoosier Faiths


Book Description

Presents the history of religion in Indiana, surveying the history of more than 50 denominations and religious groups in Indiana from pioneer days. This book includes sections on Jews, Muslims, Shakers, Rappites, Mennonites, Pentecostals, Mormons, Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses and others, who contributed to Indiana's religious heritage.




Paint and Canvas


Book Description

At the age of fourteen, a young man in Waveland, Indiana, had taken over the family farm after the death of his father. Now responsible for taking care of his widowed mother and supporting his four brothers, he took up the reins on the plow to begin preparing the field for planting. Family legend has it that the young farmer, Theodore Clement Steele, tied “colored ribbons to the handles of the plow so that he could watch the ribbons in the wind and the effect that they had on the [surrounding] colors.” Recognizing Steele’s passion for art, his mother supported his choice to make his living as an artist. T. C. Steele, the eighth volume in the Indiana Historical Society Press’s youth biography series, traces the path of Steele’s career as an artist from his early studies in Germany to his determination to paint what he knew best, the Indiana landscape. Steele, along with fellow artists William Forsyth, Otto Stark, Richard Gruelle, and J. Ottis Adams, became a member of the renowned Hoosier Group and became a leader in the development of Midwestern art.




Hoosiers and the American Story


Book Description

A supplemental textbook for middle and high school students, Hoosiers and the American Story provides intimate views of individuals and places in Indiana set within themes from American history. During the frontier days when Americans battled with and exiled native peoples from the East, Indiana was on the leading edge of America’s westward expansion. As waves of immigrants swept across the Appalachians and eastern waterways, Indiana became established as both a crossroads and as a vital part of Middle America. Indiana’s stories illuminate the history of American agriculture, wars, industrialization, ethnic conflicts, technological improvements, political battles, transportation networks, economic shifts, social welfare initiatives, and more. In so doing, they elucidate large national issues so that students can relate personally to the ideas and events that comprise American history. At the same time, the stories shed light on what it means to be a Hoosier, today and in the past.