Iowa Artists

Adams, Susan [Dubuque, IA] (4)

Allen, Lee [Des Moines, IA] (3);(5)
Born on September 16, 1910 in Muscatine, Iowa, Lee Allen's painting talents revealed themselves in his childhood. After graduating from high school in Des Moines, he studied at the Cumming School of Art and eventually enrolled at the University of Iowa in September 1929. Allen competed in numerous Iowa Art Salon exhibitions at the Iowa State Fair, where he won second prize in both landscape and oils (1930, 1931), and first prize in oils and watercolors (1932, 1934-1935). Allen enrolled at the University of Iowa (fall 1929), and while there, attended Grant Wood's evening classes in Cedar Rapids, becoming a protege of the master painter. Allen attended Stone City's art colony and worked with Wood on several WPA projects, including the PWAP library murals for Iowa State University (1934, 1936-37). During the summer of 1935, he briefly studied with Diego Rivera, the famous Mexican muralist. Allen was awarded the Treasury Department mural commission for the Onawa, Iowa post office; his efforts produced the work titled "Soil Erosion" (1938).

By the late 1930s, financial realities led Allen to traditional employment as an opthamology illustrator for the University of Iowa. While working at the campus, Allen did not exhibit or sell any paintings, even while handling private commissions for medical school personnel. He served as president of the Association of Medical Illustrators (1959) and as president of the American Society of Ocularists (1969). Following retirement in 1976, Allen began a private company manufacturing prosthetic eyes, based on his research and design. He also returned to painting, choosing to show Iowa's landscape in a regionalist style. Suffering from progressive macular degeneration, he captured the gradual loss of sight in vivid illustrations featured in his book, The Hole in My Vision: An Artist's View of His Own Macular Degeneration (2000). A retrospective of his paintings, medical illustrations, and other media was featured at the University of Iowa's Museum of Art and the Brunnier Art Museum of Iowa State University in 2001. Mr. Allen died in 2006.
**EXPANDED BIOGRAPHY FOR ALLEN WILL BE AVAILABLE SPRING 2008.

Allen, Josephine [Des Moines, IA] (4)

Bradley, Nedda [Des Moines, IA] (4)

Branagan, Iris M. [Cedar Falls, IA] (4)

Briggs, Lela Powers (Mrs. W.A.) [Waterloo, IA] (1);(2);(3);(5)
Educated at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Iowa State Teachers College, Lela Briggs was born in Powersville, Iowa in March 1896. She pursued formal art training in summer sessions at the University of Iowa and the Stone City art colony. Briggs exhibited throughout the Midwest, attracting patrons at numerous Iowa art shows. Her watercolor "Washington Smith" received third prize honors at the 1934 Iowa Art Salon; "Gilbertville Store" won second place watercolor awards at the salon's 1938 session. Additional showings occured at the Little Gallery (Cedar Rapids,IA), the Central Iowa Fair (Marshalltown, IA), the Omaha (NE) Woman's Club, and at galleries in the Davenport and Iowa City areas. In 1939, Briggs noted her city of residence as LaPorte City, Iowa. Her later years are being documented.
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Brown, Helen Gardner [Ottumwa, IA] (1);(2)

Butler, Earl W. (Mr. and Mrs.) [Oelwein, IA] (1);(2)

Carey, Justyn [Fort Dodge, IA] (4)

Carpenter, Bethane (Hall) [Coon Rapids, IA] (1);(2)
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Coffman, Esther (Dorothy) [Fairfield, IA] (4)
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Cook, Eleanor [Cedar Rapids, IA](3)

Cowden, Harry D. [Cedar Rapids, IA] (4)

Crabb, Harriet (Mrs.) [Mason City, IA](1);(2);(5)
An 1897 graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago, Harriet Crabb also gained her art training with summer sessions at the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts, Chicago's School of Fine Arts, and the Stone City art colony. Crabb's notable showings included the Chicago American Artists Annual (1897), the Iowa Artists Club (1933), and the Iowa Artists Exhibit at Mount Vernon (IA) in April 1938. By the late 1930s, Crabb was employed as a teacher in the Mason City (IA) public schools. Further biographical details are being researched.
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Davis, Morgan [Cedar Rapids, IA] (4)

Ellsworth, Cheryl (Lawther) [Davenport, IA] (4)
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Ellsworth, Lois [Ames, IA] (3)

Ely, Sturges [Cedar Rapids, IA] (3)

Evans, Grace French [Davenport, IA] (4);(5)
A longterm resident of Davenport, Iowa, Grace Evans completed her professional art training while a student at the Art Students League of New York summer school (Woodstock, NY) and while abroad in Paris. She attended the Stone City art colony and exhibited in the American Artists festival at the Art Institute (Chicago), at the Toledo Museum of Art (OH), and in several New England-area showings. The Iowa Artists Club awarded Evans the 1931 Nollen prize for her painting "Seated Nude." She resided in Davenport in the late 1930s. Further research has been completed.
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Ferguson, Bernard [Ottumwa, IA] (3);(4);(5)
Bernard Ferugson, a man who gained his art training through fortunate connections, was born in Ottumwa, Iowa in March 1911. His painting talents developed while enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Municipal Art Gallery of Davenport (IA), and ultimately, by winning a scholarship at the Little Gallery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1931). There, Ferguson met the colony's visionaries and became a student of Grant Wood and Adrian Dornbush. Following the Stone City art colony, he showed paintings in many Iowa galleries; Ferguson later worked as an instructor and secretary for the federal art center (PWAP) in Sioux City, Iowa (1937-1940). Research indicates that he later became employed by a railroad company and remained in this profession for many years. Ferguson died in Red Wing, Minnesota in May 1977.
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Frankel, Margo Rene [Des Moines, IA] (1);(2)
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Funk, Joseph (Mr.and Mrs.) [Ottumwa, IA] (4);(5)
Attending the Stone City art colony with his wife, Joseph Funk followed two divergent art paths, that of a traditional oils painter and that of a industrial designer. Born in Shenandoah, Iowa in 1901, Funk's first art efforts began with classic training at the Art Institute of Chicago. He then exhibited at the Joslyn Memorial Museum (Omaha, NE), the Anderson Gallery (New York City), Rockefeller Center (NYC), the Chester Johnson Galleries (Chicago, IL), and the Little Gallery in Cedar Rapids. Funk's talents in oils led to commissions at several Midwestern universities, as well as those for the Ottumwa (IA) Public Library, the Memorial Union (University of Iowa), and the Minneapolis Art Institute. By the early 1930s, Funk had held several one man shows and participated in three traveling exhibits. The Iowa Artists Club awarded its 1935 first prize for his painting "Stationary Engine"; the Iowa Art Salon gave him second place honors for the work "Street--Midwest Town."

By the late 1930s, Funk's professional interests moved into industrial design and color engineering. His talents enabled companies to modify or improve retail window displays, burial vaults, lawn mowers, and color schemes for truck fleets. While living in Ottumwa, Iowa, Funk lent his enthusiasm to redesign the interior, lighting, seating areas, and stage for the city's Armory-Coliseum. Research shows that he relocated to Tucson, Arizona and died there in May 1985. Details on his wife's art endeavors are unknown.
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Gebers, Nellie M. (Mrs.) [Lincoln, IA] (1);(2);(5)
Nellie Gebers, born in Lincoln, Iowa in October 1901, completed her first art training at the Denver Art Insitute (CO), then spent three summers under Grant Wood's instruction -- first at Stone City, then two summers at the University of Iowa. Her most illustrious achievements came with the painting "Victorian Sabbath," which garnered great praise at the 135th Annual Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts exhibition (1936). The work graced the show's catalog, as well as first prize in figures at the All Iowa Exhibit (1937) housed in the Carson, Pirie, and Scott gallery; the painting also won the F.O. Thompson prize for best in figures composition at a Chicago showing. Gebers also won numerous prizes from the Iowa Art Salon (1934-1938) for oils and was shown in national, touring exhibitions. She served as a district art chairperson for the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs and worked as a painter and teacher in the Lincoln, Iowa area. In her later years, Gebers moved to Saratoga, California, where she died in February 1995.
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Gertsch, Emma (Miss) [Des Moines, IA] (1);(2)

Ginsberg, Betty Ruth [Des Moines, IA] (4)

Gratiot, Eugenia (Loetscher) [Davenport, IA] (4)
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Gratiot, Gene [Dubuque, IA] (3)

Guiher, Bertha Wainwright (Mrs.) [Winterset, IA] (1);(2);(5)
A native of Winterset, Iowa, Bertha Guiher studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Broadmoor Art School (Colorado Springs, CO), and had private lessons while in San Jose, California. An art teacher and professional painter, she showed several works in Des Moines-area galleries. "The Quilt Maker" (1932) figured prominently in Iowa Art Salon competitions and shows from the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs. Two flower studies, "Victorian" and "Spring Colors," had viewings in the Marshalltown and Cedar Rapids art communities. Guiher served as art district chairperson for the Iowa federated clubs and offered art classes to Winterset locals. Her activities after 1940 have been researched.
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Hansen, Joanne [Ames, IA] (1);(2);(3);(5)
An artist with impressive academic credentials, Joanne Hansen was a native of Denmark who later immigrated to the United States. Her formal art training included a diploma in applied art from the Pratt Institute (NYC), a Bachelors education degree from Iowa State Teacher's College (1917), a Masters degree from Columbia University (1924), and a Supervisor of Art certificate from the Teacher's College, Columbia University (1924). Hansen received her practical arts immersion at the Art Students League (NYC), the New York School of Fine and Applied Art, and two summers at the Stone City art colony.

Noted exhibitions featuring Hansen's paintings included the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs (1931) and the Iowa Art Salon (1936). Additional showings included the Iowa Artists Exhibit, Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa (1938); the Five States Exhibit at the Joslyn Memorial Gallery, Omaha; as well as displays in Boston, London, St. Louis, Chicago, and Boulder, Colorado. Hansen's significant academic talents made her an ideal host for a radio series on paintings (1927-1928) airing on WOI-AM, Ames, Iowa. She edited and authored numerous articles on home design and rural life; Hansen also served on a presidential committee for a national conference on home building and ownership (1930s). In Iowa, she was appointed state chairman of the Better Homes in America program and was the head of the applied art department at Iowa State College, now known as Iowa State University. Hansen remained in Ames for the rest of her life and died there in June 1966.
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Herman, Louise [Boone, IA] (1);(2);(5)
Louise Herman, a longterm resident of Boone, Iowa, was born in that community during September 1902. A member of the Iowa Artists Club, Herman attended the Stone City art colony and exhibited at 1932-33 Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs showings with her paintings "Portrait of My Mother" and "The Riders." Details on her life after 1935 are unknown.

House, Freda [Davenport, IA] (4)

Houts, Don [Des Moines, IA] (1);(5)
A professional painter, Don Houts was born in Belle Plaine, Iowa in April 1908. After completing art training at the Phoenix Art Institute (NYC) and Columbia University (NYC), Houts came to the Stone City art colony, where Grant Wood, Adrian Dornbush, and Florence Sprague served as his major instructors. He soon relocated to Boise, Idaho, where he exhibited at the municipal art gallery and worked as a painter. Houts remained in Boise and died there in February 1991.
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Jaeger, Oscar P. [Dubuque, IA](1);(2);(4);(5)
A late 1930s resident of Dubuque, Oscar Jaeger attended the Stone City art colony and had several showings at the Iowa State Fair's art salon. These works included: "Iowa Landscape"; "Courtyard in Taos, New Mexico"; and "Grand Canyon" (1931). "The American Scene in Iowa" and "Old Times" (1935) reflected Jaeger's later entries to the salon. Significant biographical data for this artist is unavailable.

Jeffrey, Everett [Cedar Rapids, IA](1);(2);(5)
A native of Oxford Mills, Iowa [b.1906], Everett Jeffrey was a self-taught painter and sculptor who achieved regional acclaim due to the Little Gallery of Cedar Rapids. The gallery's director, Edward Rowan, promoted Jeffrey's work in local, one-man shows (1932) and at the Iowa Art Salon (1931,1933). Jeffrey attended the Stone City art colony, and in the fall of 1932, joined Robert Francis White and other artists to create the Cooperative Mural Painters Group of Cedar Rapids. This collective later produced the Cedar Rapids federal courthouse murals series (1936); the installation was destroyed under court orders years later. After 1939, the artist's life story is undetermined.

Keeler, Charles B. [Cedar Rapids, IA] (1);(2);(5)
Born in 1882 Cedar Rapids, Charles Keeler completed his professional studies at the Art Institute of Chicago and Harvard University. During extensive European travels (1909-1912), Keeler perfected his etching techniques. The U.S. National Museum (Smithsonian) purchased one of his prints for its permanent collection (1915); that same year, the St. Paul Institute of Art (MN) awarded him a silver medal for etching. At Camp Dodge, Iowa, Keeler joined the Army in 1918, and due to his fluency in French, was the company's translator and delegate to camouflage school. The artist's etchings gained notoriety in a 1927 showing at the Los Angeles Museum and at the "Fine Prints of the Year" exhibition (1929) in London. He attended the Stone City art colony and had works included in the Library of Congress's print collection. Keeler later moved to Los Angeles, California; biographical details after 1939 have been documented.
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Kelly, Anthony J. [Davenport, IA] (4);(5)
An illustrator and commercial artist, James Kelly, born in Des Moines, Iowa (1900) and divided his professional interests among several showings at the Davenport Art Gallery (1929-1931), which included first prize awards for black and white composition. Employed by the Chicago Tribune staff for several years as an illustrator, he also provided drawings for books and magazine articles. By the late 1930s, Kelly had studios and homes in both Davenport, Iowa and New York City. Later details about his life have not been researched.

Klimo (or Klima), Vaclav [Mount Vernon, IA](1);(2)

Kruidenier, Florence C. [Des Moines, IA](1);(2)
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Lepley, Marion [Ames, IA] (4);(5)
A native of Beaman, Iowa, Marion Lepley's professional art training included Bachelors and Masters degrees from Iowa State College [Iowa State University] (1922, 1931), as well as further studies at the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Chicago. A teacher and graphic designer, Lepley attended Stone City's art colony and by 1939, was employed as a instructor of applied art at Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa. Later personal details have not been recorded.

Macmullen, Mabel Dixon (Mrs.) [Des Moines, IA](1);(2);(4)
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Mansfield, Edward (Mrs.) [Cedar Rapids, IA] (4)

McBroom, Louise Garst (Mrs. Leland) [Des Moines, IA](1);(2);(4);(5)
Louise Garst McBroom was born in Coon Rapids, Iowa and followed her art interests to Des Moines, where she studied at the Cumming School of Art; later travels to Colorado Springs (CO) afforded additional art classes. Garst helped found the Art Students Work Shop in Des Moines, an organization affiliated with the local art association and directed by Lowell Houser and Adrian Dornbush, other Stone City colony members. McBroom received prizes from Iowa art groups -- first prize from the Des Moines Women's Club (1930) for "Young Woman Peeling an Apple" and first prize (1934) from the Iowa Artists Club for "Late Summer." McBroom attended the Stone City colony and garnered much attention in statewide competitions. She created a portait of her father, Warren Garst, Iowa governor from 1902-1908, for the portrait gallery of the Iowa Historical Building, Des Moines. She served as state director of WPA programs from 1936-1937. It is presumed that Garst's family is that of Elizabeth and Roswell Garst, owners of the Garst Farm Resort in Coon Rapids, Iowa and hosts to the world-famous visit of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in September 1959. Details on McBroom's life after 1939 have not been documented.

Meister, George [Dubuque, IA] (4)

Mendelsohn, Marjorie [Des Moines, IA] (4)

Meyermann, Mildred [Boone, IA] (1);(2);(4)

Montgomery, Carrie Ellen (Mrs. W.A.) [Cedar Rapids, IA](1);(2);(3);(5)
Carrie Ellen Montgomery was born in Rockford, Illinois in February 1878. She gained her art training with studies at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Stone City art colony, and private classes in Estes Park, Colorado. One of her notable paintings spent two years touring America as part of an American Federation of Arts exhibit titled "Iowa Speaks." Montgomery's works were featured at the Iowa Art Salon (1931-1935), Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs showings (1932-1935), and at an Iowa Artists Exhibit in Mount Vernon, Iowa (1938). Edward Rowan, director of the Little Gallery, organized Montgomery's one-man show there in April 1938. The wife of a minister and mother to five children, Montgomery managed to pursue her art talents quite adeptly, offering lectures to clubs and public painting demonstrations. She received the 1937 Purchase Prize award from the federated clubs' Sioux City, Iowa exhibit for her painting "Spring Willows." In 1939, she resided in Cedar Rapids. Further biographical details have been gathered.
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Morey, Bertha [Ottumwa, IA] (4);(5)
A native of Ottumwa, Iowa (b.July 1881), Bertha Graves Morey was a student at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she won a prize for silk design from the Art Alliance of America (1918). Morey attended the Stone City art colony and exhibited in 1938 showings sponsored by the Iowa Artists Club. In the late 1930s, she resided in Ottumwa. Further details about her life have been researched.
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Naftzger, Robinette (Britton) [Sioux City, IA](1);(2)
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Orwig, Louise [Des Moines, IA] (4);(5)
Born in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, Louise Orwig's formal art training involved studies at the Cumming School of Art (Des Moines, IA) and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA). Private studies at Provincetown (MA) and Colorado Springs (CO) completed her classroom experience. Orwig was granted PAFA's 1911 foreign studies scholarship; that same year, she received the Des Moines Women's Club first prize for her painting "Conscience." Later awards from the club included first prize for "Bouquet" (1919) and for "Provincetown Street" (1920), and the gold medal/purchase prize for "Young Girl Sewing" (1921). Orwig also claimed the first prize in Iowa's state suffrage poster contest (1916). A noted work, "Potted Plants in Patio," won the Stoddard Prize (1931) from the Iowa Artists Club and circulated nationally in an American Federation of Arts exhibit (1934-1935). Orwig attended the Stone City art colony and continued to exhibit with showings in Omaha (1932), Cincinnati (1935), and across Iowa. Private commissions were found at Roosevelt High School (Des Moines), Drake University (Des Moines), and in the state historical building, Des Moines.

Orwig served as secretary for the Des Moines Association of Fine Arts (1913-1918) and as a founding member of the Iowa Artists Club (1928-1932), where she was president from 1933-1934. By the late 1930s, Orwig was the Iowa chairman for the American Artists Professional League and art librarian for the Des Moines Public Library. With Zenobia B. Ness, director of the Iowa Art Salon at the annual state fair, Orwig authored the seminal work Iowa Artists of the First Hundred Years, published in 1939 by the Wallace-Homestead Company of Des Moines. Later details about Orwig's life are being documented.
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Parrot, Jessie (Loomis) [Waterloo, IA] (4)
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Patton, John [Cedar Rapids, IA] (4)

Perkins, Bill [Council Bluffs, IA] (4);(5)
A Huntsville, Missouri native, William Perkins attended the Stone City art colony and exhibited at the 1934 Iowa Art Salon with his painting "Prices" winning honorable mention in oils. At the salon's 1935 showing, Perkins' work "Stand Pipe, Western Iowa" was part of a Public Works Administration (PWA) painting collection. He later completed a mural for Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa and murals for the city's South Side Church and First Lutheran Church (1936). As of 1939, Perkins resided in Council Bluffs. Further biographical details are being researched.
**EXPANDED BIOGRAPHY FOR PERKINS WILL BE AVAILABLE SPRING 2008.

Pierce, Jane [Des Moines, IA] (4)

Polk, Ben [Des Moines, IA] (4);(5)
A longterm resident of Des Moines, Ben Polk was born in the city (May 1916) and academically trained as a civil engineer and architect. Polk's formal studies included two years at Amherst College (MA), one year at the University of Chicago, and two years at Iowa State College [Iowa State University] in Ames, Iowa. Truly a self-taught artist, he received a half-time scholarship to study at Stone City's art colony during its 1932 session. Polk's major showings of the 1930s featured a limestone sculpture called "Prayer" at the Iowa Art Salon (1937) and four paintings at the 1938 Des Moines Women's Club Exhibit. The Iowa State College art gallery at the Great Hall displayed Polk's works in 1937; a one-man window display in Chicago occurred in August 1938. His endeavors after 1940 have not been documented.

Postel, E. Everett [Iowa City, IA](3)

Roberts, Newton [Ottumwa, IA] (4);(5)
Born in Hancock County, Indiana in July 1881, Newton Roberts completed both Bachelors and Masters degrees en route to his career as a lawyer. Having no formal art training, he had numerous private teachers and attended the Stone City art colony. A 1932 Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs show highlighted his painting titled "Self Portrait." Another work, "Smoke Stacks," was featured in the 1937 Five States Exhibition at the Joslyn Memorial Museum, Omaha; the painting was selected to remain in the gallery through 1939 and featured an Ottumwa, Iowa power plant's stacks drawn on rough cardboard. By the late 1930s, Roberts had his legal practice in Ottumwa; he remained in the city and died there in December 1974.
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Rose, Dorothy [Davenport, IA] (4)
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Saunders, A.W. (Aulus Ward) [Iowa City, IA] (1);(2);(5)
Born in Perry, Missouri in September 1904, Aulus Ward Saunders' art and technical education occurred at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, the St. Louis School of Fine Arts [Washington University], the University of Iowa, and New York University. He specialized in art education and art psychology, presumably coming to the Stone City art colony with Charles Meier, a University of Iowa professor and nationally-recognized art psychology specialist. Saunders exhibited throughout the Midwest: the Iowa Art Salon (1934); Midwestern Annual, Kansas City Art Institute (1935); Annual Show, St. Louis City Art Museum (1935); and the All American Annual (1935). He completed a fresco-style mural for the high school in University City, Missouri and had several private portrait commissions. From 1932-34, Saunders worked as a research associate in the art psychology department of the University of Iowa. By the late 1930s, he had relocated to Oswego, New York, where he was head of the art department of the State Normal School. Saunders died in Oswego during September 1991.
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Shackell, Charles (Mrs.) [Independence, IA] (4)

Sharp, John [Eldon, IA] (4);(5)
A painter and ceramicist, John Oliver Sharp was born in Galesburg, Illinois in April 1911. He completed art classes at the Davenport (IA) Municipal Art School, the State University of Iowa [University of Iowa], and the Art Students League of New York. Further training occurred at the Stone City art colony, National Academy of Design (NYC), and the Greenwich Pottery School (NYC). Sharp exhibited at the Iowa Art Salon, Little Gallery (Cedar Rapids, IA), the Corcoran Museum (Washington, D.C.), and the Detroit Museum (MI). In New York city, his works were displayed at Radio City, the New York City Galleries, the Municipal Art Galleries, and Studio Guild Galleries. In the late 1930s, Sharp divided his time between New York City and Lumberville, Pennsylvania. His later activities have been documented.
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Stein, A.G. [Dubuque, IA] (4)

Tepsic, Ann (Miss) [Des Moines, IA](1);(2)

Thompson, Mary I. (Miss) [Dubuque, IA] (later known as Mrs. Charles A. Carriel) (1);(2);(4);(5)
A graduate of MacMurray College (Jacksonville, IL) and the Corcoran Art School (Washington, D.C.), Mary Thompson Carriel's major talents rested in sculpture. Carriel pursued further studies in Brussels, Belgium (1908-1909), as well as the Stone City art colony. She exhibited in both Des Moines and Dubuque galleries, winning prizes for her small, portrait-quality busts. Most notably, Thompson worked in the Chicago studio of Lorado Taft, arguably Illinois' greatest sculptor of historic subjects. In the late 1930s, the artist resided in Dubuque, Iowa; her later years have been documented.
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Townsend, Pauline (Mrs.) [Elliott, IA] (1);(2);(5)
Pauline Townsend, born in Ottumwa, Iowa (1870), achieved her art education through formal studies at Simpson College (Indianola, IA), the Art Institute of Chicago, the Stone City art colony, and five summer sessions in Saugatuck, Michigan at Oxbow. Primarily exhibiting in Iowa and in Oklahoma, Townsend participated in the Midwest Exhibition (Kansas City), Iowa Artists Club showings, and had a one-man exhibition in Red Oak, Iowa. After relocating to Oklahoma, Townsend organized a local art appreciation group and taught painting privately. The state's Federation of Women's Clubs awarded her a gold medal (1922) and first place honors in their Tulsa competition (1935). Her Iowa history included eight years as an art instructor in the public schools. In 1939, Townsend lived in Tulsa; her activities after this date are unknown.

Triplett, Margaret F. [Storm Lake, IA] (3);(5)
Margaret Triplett, a painter and art teacher, was born in Vermillion, South Dakota in December 1905. She received a Bachelors degree from the State University of Iowa [University of Iowa] in 1927 and continued her art education at the prestigious School of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA). Several summer sessions at the Art Students League (Boothbay Harbor, ME), the Thurn School of Modern Art (Gloucester, MA), and at the Stone City art colony finished her training. Triplett exhibited in Iowa at Buena Vista College (Storm Lake, IA), the state fair's Iowa Art Salon, and at the 1938 Iowa Artists Exhibit in Mount Vernon. She won the Dubuque Women's Club medal for "Bobbing Boats" and received honorable mentions at several Great Hall, Iowa State College showings (1930s). Triplett moved to Norwich, Connecticut and displayed her works at the Connecticut Academy (Norwich), the Central Connecticut Art Center (Marlborough, CT), and at Slater Memorial Museum (Norwich). In the late 1930s, Triplett taught at the Norwich Art School (Norwich, CT) and maintained a second home in Storm Lake, Iowa. She died in April 1991; her last residence is unknown.

Van Alstine, Mary J. (Mrs. L.H.) [Gilmore City, IA] (1);(2);(5)
Born in Chicago (1878), Mary Van Alstine's art talents were cultivated with private lessons and instruction at the Boothbay Harbor Colony (ME), the Otis Art Institute (Los Angeles, CA), and the Stone City art colony. She primarily exhibited in Iowa, having showings at the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs (1932), the Iowa Artists Club (1933, 1935), and the Iowa Art Salon (1934). Van Alstine's paintings were also shown at the Mount Vernon Iowa Artists Exhibit (1938), and the Five States Exhibit (1938) at the Joslyn Gallery (Omaha, NE). A member of the Iowa Artists Club, she resided in Gilmore City, Iowa in the late 1930s. Her later activities are unknown.

Van Duzee, Kate Keith (Miss) [Dubuque, IA] (1);(2);(5)
A prominent artist from Dubuque, Iowa, Kate Van Duzee was born there in 1874 and spent much of her life beautifying the city through her paintings and art connections. Duzee's professional training came with studies in Boston, Ogunquit (ME), Ipswich (MA), Saugatuck (MI), and the Stone City art colony. She exhibited extensively in Iowa, having shows at the Dubuque Public Library, the state fair's Iowa Art Salon, and the Iowa Artists Club. Two one-man shows of her work occurred at the Little Gallery (Cedar Rapids, IA) and at the Waterloo Art Association (Waterloo, IA). Van Duzee's paintings gained a national audience in the American Federation of Arts traveling exhibit (1935), the Midwestern Exhibit (Kansas City, MO), and the All Iowa Exhibit (Chicago). Her Iowa Art Salon awards, numerous and distinguished, include first prize in watercolor (1919,1922-23), first in black and white (1921,1929,1931), and the 1929 sweepstakes award for her pastel "Jacklin Farm." In truth, few years from the 1920s-1930s found Van Duzee leaving without salon honors. The artist had permanent exhibits at the Municipal Museum (Davenport, IA) and the Dubuque Public Library art gallery, each reflecting more than a dozen of her major works.

Locally, Van Duzee served as secretary of the Dubuque Art Association and belonged to the Iowa Artists Club and to the Cooperative Artists of Iowa. She maintained a high profile in the area art community and was part of a four-member committee to jury and select artists for the WPA commission at the Dubuque federal post office. The contract was offered in 1936 to William Bunn and to Bertrand Adams; the two murals were installed in August 1937. In the late 1930s, Van Duzee still resided in Dubuque; later details about her life have not been determined.

Walling, Letitia [Des Moines, IA](1);(2)

Ware, Buhl [Des Moines, IA] (4)

Weaver, Florence [Des Moines, IA] (4);(5)
A native of Webster City, Iowa, Florence Weaver studied interior design and painting at the Art Institute of Chicago and then travelled abroad for classes in Munich and Mexico. Weaver attended the Stone City art colony and had private lessons in the summer of 1938. Her works were featured in a one-man show at the Younker Brothers Tea Room Galleries (Des Moines, IA; 1934) and at Iowa Artists Club exhibitions (1934-35). In 1935, Weaver won the William Cochrane prize from the Murphy Calendar Company of Red Oak, Iowa for her painting "Near the Wharf." A member of the Iowa Artists Club, she lived in Des Moines in the later 1930s; her later whereabouts are unknown.

Weaver, Margaret [Boone, IA] (4)

Wilkerson, Cecil (Mr.and Mrs.) [Waterloo, IA](4)

Wilson, Anna Mary [Des Moines, IA] (4)

Caldwell, Georgia Leigh (Mrs.) [River Forest, IL] (1);(2)
Born in Jeffersonville, Indiana in October 1892, Georgia Leigh Caldwell attended the Stone City art colony and became known as a landscape painter. She remained a longterm resident of Illinois and died in Oak Park (Chicago area) during January 1936. Further details about her life are not known.

Correthers, L. Young [Rockford, IL] (4)
Leslie Young Correthers, a Stone City colony student, pursued many artistic avenues -- poetry, writing, acting, and painting. While teaching art in Hawaii (1910-1916), he published articles on art education, including the text, "Development of Creative Impulses in Art Classes" (ca. 1915), and participated in many amateur theater productions. Correthers joined the U.S. Army in 1917 and served in World War I. His activities after 1940 are unknown.

Ferguson, Donald B. (Mrs.) [Rockford, IL] (4)

Keeler, E.R. (Mrs.) [Chicago, IL](1);(2)

Neville, Dorothy [Kewanee, IL] (4)

Peek, Adeline (Miss) [Moline, IL](1);(2)

Peek, Eloise (Miss) [Moline, IL](1);(2)

Stone, Helen Loosley (Mrs.) [Moline, IL](1);(2)

Tilton, Florence (Miss) {Florence Tilton Ahlfeld} [Normal, IL] (1);(2)
Florence Tilton, a native of Vermillion, South Dakota, was born in 1894. Studies at the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia University, and the Stone City art colony comprised her formal art training. Tilton served as a painter and professor at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois; she was on faculty while attending the eastern Iowa art experiment. She later married the Illinois artist Fred Ahlfred; her activities following 1935 are unknown.

Walker, Dick [Rock Island, IL] (4)

Wilder, Emory (Mrs.) [Chicago, IL](1);(2)

Missouri Artists

Pickard, Dorothy (Miss) [Kansas City, MO](1);(2)

Thalinger, Jean [St. Louis, MO] (1);(2)
Son of the painter Oscar Thalinger, Frederic Jean Thalinger was born in St. Louis (1915). He attended Antioch College (Yellow Springs, OH), Washington University (St. Louis, MO), the Art Institute of Chicago, and summered at Stone City with Grant Wood. Thalinger also completed classes in ceramics at the University of Cincinnati and became well-known as a sculptor, commonly welding copper or other metals. As an artist, he also used soap, stone, and clay in seminal works.

In 1941, Thalinger was teaching sculpture at Chicago's Hull House when he met Ciel Frampton, an artist and activist who co-founded the Consumer's Union in 1930. The two soon married and, that same year, created the "Sun Mobile" sculpture. Displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the work received high praise from critics for its representation of the earth and sun. Ciel continued her life as a political advocate, and the pair moved to Ossining, New York, where they taught sculpture for six years (1940s). Jean's masterwork, "The Defenders," was placed into the permanent collection of the Smithsonian, and the Thalingers returned to St. Louis to continue their art. He died there in 1965; Ciel later relocated to Marin County, California (Bolinas, CA), where she died in September 1996. The couple's son, Ernest Thalinger, collected many of his father's personal papers and donated them to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, where they can be viewed by the public.

Minnesota Artists

De Jong, Ruth (Mrs.) [Excelsior, MN](1);(2)

Kerfoot, Margaret (Miss) [St. Paul, MN] (1);(2)
Born in Winona, Minnesota (July 1901), Margaret Kerfoot completed her professional art training at the Art Institute of Chicago and attended the Stone City art colony. She was appointed chair of the art department at Hamline University (St. Paul, MN) and remained at the campus until June 1952. During her summers, Kerfoot participated in art colonies, many in the Rocky Mountains region. She founded the Gilpin County Arts Association (Central City, CO) in 1947 and lived in Colorado during her term-breaks. In early 1952, Kerfoot married Marshall Walker Jennison, a professor of bacteriology at Syracuse University and later joined her husband in New York after resigning her Hamline faculty position. She eventually settled in Boulder, Colorado following the death of her husband; she died there in May 1995. The Hamline University art endowment and an art scholarship are named in Margaret Kerfoot Jennison's honor.

Shuman, John R. [Minneapolis, MN](1);(2)

Turner, Constance (Miss) [Minneapolis, MN](1);(2)

Nebraska Artists

Culp, Wendell (Mrs.) [Omaha, NE] (4)

Fogelstrom, Alma (Miss) [Omaha, NE](1);(2)

Nissen, Mary [Omaha, NE] (4)

Ronin, William [Omaha, NE](1);(2)

Sacchi, Mary [Lincoln, NE] (4)

New York Artists

Silvers, Herbert (Mr. and Mrs.) [New York City](1);(2)

Oklahoma Artists

Christie, Mae Allyn (Miss) {Mae Allyn Schupbach} [Tulsa, OK] (1);(2)
A painter and printmaker, Mae Allyn Christie was born in 1895 Moberly, Missouri. She attended the New York School of Fine and Applied Art, as well as the Stone City art colony. In the 1920s, Christie married and lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she taught art at Tulsa High School. The artist also operated the Mae Allyn Schupbach School of Art in Tulsa. A regional artist who was primarily active from 1935-1940, Schupbach exhibited at the Tulsa Art Association and was profiled in several, national art magazines. Her activities after 1940 are not known.

Wisconsin Artists

Kitt, Emma (Miss) [Racine, WI] (1);(2);(3) {residence cited as Ames, IA}
Born in Melbourne, South Dakota in 1885, Emma Kitt pursued her art training at the Art Institute of Chicago, the New York School of Fine and Applied Art, and at the Stone City art colony. Kitt exhibited extensively across the Midwest, including notable showings at the Josyln Memorial Art Museum (Omaha, NE; 1934-1944), the Iowa Art Salon at the state fair (1933-1938), the Kansas City Art Institute (1935), and at Iowa Water Color Association gatherings in Sioux City, Iowa (1945). A gifted watercolorist, Kitt was appointed as an associate art professor at Iowa State University in Ames. She remained in the community, teaching and exhibiting, until she died in 1953.

Artists with Unknown Residence

Allison, Harold Palmer (3)

Bortin, Fran (3)

Williams, Frank (3)

Resource notations:

[1] "Stone City Art Colony News." Anamosa Journal Eureka [Anamosa, Iowa] 3 August 1933.

[2]"Stone City Enrollment is Double Last Year." Cedar Rapids Gazette [Cedar Rapids, IA] 30 July 1933.

[3] 1932 Colony group photo; University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA) copy with student signatures

[4] Other newspaper coverage from Cedar Rapids Gazette (ca. 1932-33)

[5] Artist profile featured in Ness, Zenobia B., and Louise Orwig. Iowa Artists of the First Hundred Years. Des Moines, IA: Wallace-Homestead Company, 1939.