Theodore Clement Steele

Come along with me on this perfect August morning for a ride through the beautiful hills of Brown County, Indiana, to visit the home of artist Theodore Clement Steele. Our drive will take us down scenic Highway 46, then south, following the winding road up through the wooded hills to the top.

T.C. Steele, an American Impressionist painter, is known for his Indiana landscapes and regarded as one of the most well-known Indiana artists of all time. Born on September 11, 1847, the artist’s father was a saddle maker and farmer. When his father died, Steele was tasked with the job of supporting his family. However, his mother saw his passion for art and eventually freed him of his duties so that he could pursue a career as an artist. Steele received training at the Waveland Collegiate Institute and then furthered his studies when he was sixteen at Asbury College, now DePauw University. By the time he was eighteen, Steele was teaching painting courses at the Waveland Collegiate Institute.

In 1870 Steele married Mary Elizabeth Lakin, and the couple had three children. Steele supported the family by painting portraits for wealthy Indianapolis families but his passion was in painting landscapes. In 1880 Steele sought to further his art training in Europe at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich with the backing of thirteen patrons in exchange for future paintings. Accompanied by his family, Steele was a student for five years at the Academy, studying the Old Masters and enjoying plein air or outdoor painting. Also in residence in Munich were four other Indiana artists who would return home with him and form what would later become the Hoosier Group of Impressionist Painters.

After his return from Munich, Steele’s paintings showed a notable change in style. His Munich paintings sported dark, drab colors, but his work in Indiana gradually shifted toward a brighter, more vivid color palette. His paintings captured the changes of season as well as weather conditions of snow, sunshine and rain, revealing the “majestic aspects of nature.” Steele and the Hoosier Group dominated the Indiana art scene from 1885-1920’s, painting and teaching near their homes and establishing art schools, becoming nationally recognized at the turn of the century.

As he explored new places to paint, Steele discovered an isolated area in Brown County, Indiana, between Bloomington and Nashville. He built a studio high atop one of the hills on sixty acres and moved into the new summer residence with his second wife, Selma, in August 1907. Inspired by the breezes blowing through the cottage’s screened porches, they named it the House of the Singing Winds.

The Steeles acquired additional acreage, built a barn-sized studio-gallery, enlarged the home and surrounded it with beautiful flower gardens designed and maintained by Selma Steele. Their home was a gathering place for many Indiana artists. T.C. Steele passed away July 24, 1926. The property was donated to the Indiana Department of Conservation and established as a state historic site in memory of T.C. Steele in 1945 shortly before Selma Steele’s death.