Wall labels from the exhibition:

Carl C. Graf

 

American, 1892-1947

 

The Three Muses

 

oil on canvas mounted to Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

Carl Graf was a student of William Forsyth when he participated in the hospital mural project and supervised the installation of the murals. Graf lived in the hospital for 13 months while working on the murals. He completed a series of landscapes for the pediatric ward and the African American women's surgical, medical, and obstetrics ward, for which The Three Muses was painted. For the children's ward Graf painted a seven-part series based on Cinderella and Elfin Grove. These fairy-tale murals are missing, and only and parts of the landscapes still exist. The Three Muses is in various stages of conservation. The figure on the left has been partially cleaned. It has surface grime, its coating has yellowed, and discolored overpaint obscures the original bright colors used by the artist. The figure in the middle is in the process of being conserved. Surface grime, yellowed varnish, and discolored overpaint have been removed, exposing areas of damage. The figure on the right has been treated. Areas of damage have been repaired and painted and a non-yellowing coating applied to protect the painted surface and bring out the colors.

 

 

William Edouard Scott

 

American, 1884-1964

 

Simeon and the Babe Jesus

 

oil on canvas mounted to Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

Scott was the only African American artist to participate in the hospital mural project. He attended Emmerich Manual Training High School and studied with Hoosier Group artist Otto Stark. Scott was the first African American to teach in the Indianapolis Public Schools when he became an assistant teacher at Manual. He later painted murals for the Chicago, Indianapolis and Washington, D. C., public schools. Between 1909 and 1914, Scott made three trips to France, studying at the Académies Julian and Colorassi. While in France he met the African American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner, with whom he lived for a short time. Scott worked in the women's and men's medical wards, and he was the only artist on this project to paint directly on the wall-mounted canvases. The women's medical ward murals pictured the life of Jesus. In Simeon and the Babe Jesus, the Christ child was modeled after Weir Stuart, son of Dr. William Weir Stuart, a prominent Indianapolis African American and patron of Scott's. Florence Martin, nurse supervisor, posed as Mary. This mural was the first Wishard Hospital mural to be conserved by the IMA in 2004.

 

 

Theodore Clement Steele

 

American, 1847-1926

 

Autumnal Landscape, Yellow Tree

 

oil on canvas mounted to Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

Steele is considered the leader of Indiana's Hoosier Group artists and in 1914 was well established and respected in his career. Much of his fame lies in his ability to depict the splendor and beauty of Brown County's changing seasons. His hospital murals, all of which were painted in Brown County, depict the Brown County countryside. He created eight murals for the women's surgical ward, the four depicting the seasons -- Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter -- and four narrow vertical landscapes depicting autumn and spring that adorned the walls adjacent to the seasons. Steele's murals are among his largest and most magnificent landscapes, stunning in their color, tone, and style. All of these murals were removed from the hospital's walls in a 1967 restoration attempt. The removal process was extremely damaging to the paintings, causing complex tears, and the treatment resulted in excessive filling of some areas with putty and overpainting. The IMA conservation department is conserving these murals so that their original breadth and beauty can again be appreciated. The two autumnal landscapes currently on display have been conserved by the IMA.

 

 

Theodore Clement Steele

 

American, 1847-1926

 

Four Seasons: Autumn

 

oil on canvas mounted to Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

This four-mural series contains some of the largest landscapes Steele created. Each of his paintings of the four seasons measures 65 by 114 inches. They were too large for his Brown County studio, so he painted them in the living room of his house. The series was described in The American Magazine of Art in 1917 as "masterly and, decoratively, masterful. They bespeak the inherent bigness and breadth of scenes they represent so faithfully." This mural was damaged when it was removed from the hospital walls in 1967. IMA conservators restored it to its original beauty, an intricate and painstaking process, but a very rewarding one given the magnificence of the landscape.

 

 

Jay H. Connaway

 

American, 1893-1979

 

Landscape with Rolling Hills

 

oil on canvas mounted to Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

Three of Connaway's paintings for the 1914 mural project survive today and are on display in this exhibition. Their original location in the Burdsal units is unknown, and it is not known whether he painted on site or if he shipped his paintings to the hospital. It is likely that Connaway, who was born in Liberty, Indiana, had just finished his formal education at the Art Students' League in New York when he joined the project. Connaway's hospital murals were found in a storeroom during remodeling in 1967. These quiet landscapes are different from the subjects Connaway typically painted, which often included rough sea and mountain views. This mural has been conserved by the IMA.

 

 

Jay H. Connaway

 

American, 1893-1979

 

Landscape

 

oil on canvas mounted on Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

This mural by Connaway is shown in its untreated state so that it can be compared with the mural by this artist that has already been conserved and is also on display.

 

 

Clifton Wheeler

 

American, 1883-1953

 

Women and Children

 

oil on canvas mounted to Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

Wheeler was just finishing his formal education and on the brink of a remarkable career when he joined the hospital

mural project. His contributions were a series of idealized landscapes in the men's medical ward and the adjacent lobby and hallway. In the nearby sunroom he created scenes of a farm, and for the sunroom off the pediatric ward he illustrated a series of children's stories. None of Wheeler's murals for the pediatric ward survive, and much of his original technique for the landscapes is marred by the 1967 restoration attempt. Although the landscapes presumably were created in the same impressionistic fashion, heavy overpainting obscures much of the artist's original intent. Women and Children is the only salvageable portion of a much larger mural that filled one corner of the lobby of the men's medical ward. The surviving element, full of quick and bold brush strokes, exhibits Wheeler's impressionistic manner. The entire mural originally showed men, women, and children enjoying an idealized park setting. This work has been conserved by the IMA.

 

 

Theodore Clement Steele

 

American, 1847-1926

 

Dr. William Niles Wishard

 

oil on canvas

 

On loan from the Wishard family

 

This portrait of Dr. Wishard was created by Steele from a photograph. Steele was known for his portraits of important members of the Indianapolis community. Dr. Wishard became the superintendent of the hospital in 1879 at the age of 28 and held this position until 1887. In addition to improving the hospital's physical plant, he stressed the importance of sanitation and the use of antiseptics to create a healthier environment for the treatment of patients. The success of the Wishard years was formally recognized in 1975, when the hospital was renamed in his honor. This portrait has been conserved by the IMA.

 

 

Wayman Adams

 

American, 1883-1959

 

Portrait of a Girl

 

oil on canvas mounted to Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

Adams created a series of 20 portraits of Indianapolis children that were among the most endearing decorations for the Burdsal wing. Designed for the pediatric ward, the portrait series was the only contribution to the project that was not a mural. The pediatric ward was of particular interest to the hospital's guild, since the volunteer group's primary interest was the care of sick children. The guild members hoped the patients might be comforted by the familiar faces they saw in the portraits of children on the walls. This work has been conserved by the IMA.

 

 

Wayman Adams

 

American, 1883-1959

 

Portrait of a Boy

 

oil on canvas mounted to Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

Adams created excitement in the community as "beauty contests" were held to find the appropriate models for his children's portraits. He wanted a cross section of Indianapolis's ethnic population and socioeconomic groups. In addition, it was hoped that pediatric patients would feel more comfortable seeing the faces of children similar to themselves. Twenty-five portraits were painted, and 20 were installed in the ward. The models chosen reflected the nationalities of children who received treatment at the hospital, including Romanian, Hungarian, Serbian, Italian, African American and Jewish children. This work is being shown in its original state, before any conservation has been done, so that it can be compared with the portraits that have already received treatment.

 

 

Wayman Adams

 

American, 1883-1959

 

Richard William Etter

 

oil on canvas mounted on Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

Adams painted the children's portraits in his downtown studio. The canvases were mounted directly to the wall in the same manner as the large murals. The portraits were framed with rounded molding, also mounted directly to the wall. Years after the mural project was completed, visitors came to the hospital to see the portraits of themselves and their friends. This portrait has been conserved by the IMA.

 

 

Wayman Adams

 

American, 1883-1959

 

Anne Marie Brodeur

 

oil on canvas mounted on Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

In the 1950s, the portraits were taken down because of the deterioration of the wall plaster. During the 1967 restoration attempt, they were adhered to Masonite. Complex tears, excessive filling in with putty, and overpainting, all resulting from past restoration attempts, are evident. Of the original 20 portraits, nine are part of the Wishard collection and one that is too compromised to conserve is owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The location of the remaining 10 is unknown. This painting is being shown in its original state before any conservation has been done so that it can be compared with the portraits that have already received treatment.

 

 

Jay H. Connaway

 

American, 1893-1979

 

Fields on a Hill

 

oil on canvas mounted to Masonite

 

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana

 

This painting was originally attributed to J. Ottis Adams and was titled Whitewater at Brookville. A thorough cleaning and examination revealed a partial signature on the lower right that indicated the work was more likely done by Connaway. In addition, conservation unveiled a painting that was clearly not a scene of Brookville. These kinds of revelations, often brought to light during conservation work, are the reason that conservation treatment in the hands of a professional is so important to the proper understanding and identification of a work of art. This mural was recently conserved by the IMA.

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