| Primarily known for its beautiful scenery, Brown County, Ind., has been a haven for artists and artisans since the early part of the 20th century. |
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| Artists from all over the Midwest migrated to this region in Indiana for inspiration from the beautiful hilly and wooded landscapes. When the Illinois Central Railroad added a line through to Brown County, artists from the Chicagoland region flocked to the area. Chicago artist, Adolph Shulz spread the word to his contemporaries saying that they were "ideal painting grounds and they were less than a day's travel from the city." |
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| The most well-known group of plein air (painting outdoors in natural light) artists to come out of the Brown County region in the 1900s was known as the Hoosier Group. Their work is recognized for their beautiful stylized impressionistic landscapes. They gained national notoriety through exhibitions, especially the Chicago Exposition in 1893. The core of the group consisted of artists J. Ottis Adams, Otto Stark, Richard Gruelle, William Forsythe and the key figure of the group, Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele. |
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| T.C. Steele's studio, The House of the Singing Winds, was nestled in about 211 acres of untouched landscape and became the central location of the artist colony that developed in that region. T.C. Steele also was one of the founders of the John Herron Art Institute (now called the Herron School of Art) in Indianapolis. |
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| Many of these artists are not household names, like Monet or Picasso and may go unnoticed to those outside the art world, but some of the paintings by the Hoosier School can fetch up to thousands of dollars in the auction market. |
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| A large number of the paintings produced during that period have remained in public and private collections in Indiana. So I don't find it surprising when I am inspecting artwork in a home in Indiana and look up and see one of these masterpieces hanging modestly in a living room, unbeknownst to the owners that their "pretty landscape" is a true treasure. |
