The remarkable story of a thriving colony of painters and print makers in southern Indiana in the early twentieth century.

"Contains an in-depth introduction by Martin Krause and autobiographical text written by Gustave Baumann (edited by Krause) about the time Baumann spent in Brown County, Indiana. Includes color reproductions of Baumann's work and historical photographs"--

C. Curry Bohm was a talented and highly regarded landscape artist who is most commonly associated with Brown County, Indiana. Most consider him a leader of the second generation of Brown County painters. However, Curry's career and success expanded well beyond the borders of Brown County. The artist was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1894. Much of his artistic training was received in Chicago. The Illinois metropolis served as an important focus for his career development and an outlet for exhibitions until the 1950s. Curry permanently moved to Brown County in 1930. Many of his works during the first half of his career portrayed landscapes painted in the Smoky Mountains of Eastern Tennessee. Later, harbor and marine landscapes painted along coastal sites in Massachusetts and Maine provided new challenges and satisfaction for him over the second half of his career. Curry garnered success in all these artistic arenas. He won major awards at the Chicago Palette & Club in the early 1930s. He was awarded multiple exhibition prizes in East Coast shows during the 1950s. His Smoky Mountain and East Coast landscapes were major painting subjects for his showing in the Indiana Hoosier Salon exhibitions, from 1929-1967, where he won over twenty-five awards, including two Best in Show Awards. Curry Bohm, thus, became one of the leading painters in the Indiana arts community during the 20th century.

T.C. Steele's appreciation of nature, combined with his intelligence and capacity for concentrated study, raised his works to an extraordinary level. This story of his life and work in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is an indispensible chapter in the art and cultural history of Indiana, the Midwest, and the nation. This revised edition of the 1966 classic includes 74 full color Steele paintings from the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, the Indiana University Museum of Art, and private collectors from around the state. These paintings, many of which have never been published, demonstrate the importance of Steele to the art world - in his time and in ours.

Felrath Hines (1913–1993), the first African American man to become a professional conservator for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, was born and raised in the segregated Midwest. Leaving their home in the South, Hines's parents migrated to Indianapolis with hopes for a better life. While growing up, Hines was encouraged by his seamstress mother to pursue his early passion for art by taking Saturday classes at Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis. He moved to Chicago in 1937, where he attended the Art Institute of Chicago in pursuit of his dreams. The Life and Art of Felrath Hines: From Dark to Light chronicles the life of this exceptional artist who overcame numerous obstacles throughout his career and refused to be pigeonholed because of his race. Author Rachel Berenson Perry tracks Hines's determination and success as a contemporary artist on his own terms. She explores Hines's life in New York City in the 1950s and 60s, where he created a close friendship with jazz musician Billy Strayhorn and participated in the African American Spiral Group of New York and the equal rights movement. Hines's relationship with Georgia O'Keeffe, as her private paintings restorer, and a lifetime of creating increasingly esteemed Modernist artwork, all tell the story of one man's remarkable journey in 20th-century America. Featuring exquisite color photographs, The Life and Art of Felrath Hines explores the artist's life, work, and significance as an artist and as an art conservator.

The essays and catalogue entries survey American, European and Japanese precedents and provide a cultural context of the treatment of the theme of work, drawing on such diverse sources as poetry, popular songs, census reports and homeeconomics books.