Sue Slick, Collection Information Specialist
The artwork of celebrated Hoosier painters is scattered around the state of Indiana in some surprising places. Dozens of T. C. Steele paintings belong to Indiana University, Bloomington, where Steele was artist-in-residence in the 1920s. They hang, not in the university museum, but in the hallowed halls of the campus administration and academic buildings. The Eckhart Public Library in Auburn has a collection of wonderful Hoosier paintings including a couple of Leota Loop’s luscious floral still lifes, probably painted in her Brown County studio where she taught painting classes. Around Fort Wayne, Homer Davisson’s paintings often appear in family collections, not surprising as Davisson was a prolific painter and spent many years in this city while teaching at the Fort Wayne Art School.
What is more surprising is that the Indianapolis Public School system has quite a large collection of fine art that was displayed throughout its school facilities for decades. Many of these paintings were given to the schools by the artists themselves. Among them are paintings by Hoosier Group artists, William Forsyth, J.O. Adams and Otto Stark. This bounty of art became a worry a few years ago when it became clear that the school system didn’t have the means or expertise to continue to care for its large collection, much of which had been placed in storage as school buildings were emptied and closed. Some of the pieces were showing signs of deterioration after years spent in school environments…