THEODORE CLEMENT STEELE
Name: Theodore Clement Steele
Born: 11 September 1874
Died: 24 July 1926
Theodore Clement Steele (September 11, 1847-July 24, 1926) was an American
Impressionist painter known for his Indiana landscapes. Steele was born in Owen
County, Indiana, and later moved to Indianapolis after study in Cincinnati,
Chicago and Munich. He is considered to be the most important of the Hoosier
Group of painters and his work is widely collected by museums and individuals.
Steele earned his living primarily as a portrait painter and his portraits
include one of notable Hoosier Poet James Whitcomb Riley and the official
portraits of several Indiana governors. Steele exhibited at and was on the art
selection for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904 and was elected to the
National Academy of Design in 1913. He enjoyed plein air, or outdoor, painting,
which is reflected in many of the landscapes he painted. Steele went through a
notable change in style after his return from Munich in 1885. Steele's work,
which in the Munich time period sported drab colors and high contrasts, shifted
towards a brighter, more vivid color palette after his return to Indiana. Upon T.C.
Steele's return, his family lived in the Talbot House, or Tinker Mansion, which
is at what is now 16th and Pennsylvania Streets in Indianapolis. In 1898, Steele
and J. Ottis Adams bought a home in Brookville, Indiana, which they called "The
Hermitage." Steele sold his interest in the home to Adams after the death of his
first wife.
He received an honorary master's degree from Wabash College in 1900 and an
honorary doctorate from Indiana University in 1916.
Name: Theodore Clement Steele
Born: 11 September 1874
Died: 24 July 1926
Theodore Clement Steele (September 11, 1847-July 24, 1926) was an American
Impressionist painter known for his Indiana landscapes. Steele was born in Owen
County, Indiana, and later moved to Indianapolis after study in Cincinnati,
Chicago and Munich. He is considered to be the most important of the Hoosier
Group of painters and his work is widely collected by museums and individuals.
Steele earned his living primarily as a portrait painter and his portraits
include one of notable Hoosier Poet James Whitcomb Riley and the official
portraits of several Indiana governors. Steele exhibited at and was on the art
selection for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904 and was elected to the
National Academy of Design in 1913. He enjoyed plein air, or outdoor, painting,
which is reflected in many of the landscapes he painted. Steele went through a
notable change in style after his return from Munich in 1885. Steele's work,
which in the Munich time period sported drab colors and high contrasts, shifted
towards a brighter, more vivid color palette after his return to Indiana. Upon T.C.
Steele's return, his family lived in the Talbot House, or Tinker Mansion, which
is at what is now 16th and Pennsylvania Streets in Indianapolis. In 1898, Steele
and J. Ottis Adams bought a home in Brookville, Indiana, which they called "The
Hermitage." Steele sold his interest in the home to Adams after the death of his
first wife.
He received an honorary master's degree from Wabash College in 1900 and an
honorary doctorate from Indiana University in 1916.