An exhibit featuring the works of 42 Hoosier – all featuring buildings on the National Register of Historic Places – will open Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Indiana State Museum. The Historic Indiana En Plein Air Art Show will be open through Nov. 27 in the Museum’s King Bridge Gallery.
At least five of the works focus on sites within the Urban Times zone. They include:
– Circle View by Mary Ann Davis.
– Woodruff Place Neighborhood Fountain #1 by Margaret Peters Hanke.
– Morris Butler House by Ron Mack.
– Bates-Hendricks House by Donna Shortt.
– Harrison House by Megan Wright.
The artwork by members of the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association also showcase views of the state from Lake County to Jefferson County, and Steuben County to Posey County. All of the works can be purchased.
For the first two weeks of the exhibit, it overlaps with the annual Hoosier Salon, which features nearly 150 works by Indiana artists, on display through Oct. 25.
The En Plein Air exhibit combines “the very best of Hoosier art and the accomplishments of statewide historic preservation,” said Mark Ruschman, the museum’s senior curator of art and culture. “We’re honored to host the inaugural exhibition for this unique artistic partnership between IPAPA and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.”
All the paintings in the show, mostly executed on-site, depict one of Indiana’s 2,000 listings on the National Register. They depict a full range of the state’s listed sites, from county seat towns to ethnic heritage sites, historic houses, farmsteads, grand civic buildings and tranquil parks.
The Indiana Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology and IPAPA developed the exhibit and catalog to mark the 50th anniversary of Indiana’s historic preservation program.
“Plein air painting – the practice of painting outdoors – has a long and storied history in Indiana, inspired by the work of T.C. Steele and the Hoosier Group, Frank Dudley and so many others,” said Cathy Ferree, president and CEO of the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. “What we see in the Historic Indiana En Plein Air show is that the beauty of the Indiana landscape continues to excite and motivate artists around the state to do their best work.”
After the exhibit closes at the Indiana State Museum, it will travel to Fort Wayne Museum of Art, where it will be on display from December through January 2021. Other venues for the show include Historic Brown County Art Gallery, April-May 2021; Richmond Art Museum, June-July 2021; and Midwest Museum of American Art (Elkhart), August-September 2021. Consult each institution’s guidance for visits regarding COVID-19 safeguards. The exhibit of 60 oil, pastel and watercolor paintings is included with admission to the Indiana State Museum. Adult tickets are $17, seniors (ages 60+) are $16, youth (ages 3-17) are $12 and children younger than age 3 are free. Save $1 by purchasing tickets online at indianamuseum.org.
