July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Ready for the 'reunion' (03/21/07)
Back in the Saddle
By By JACK RONALD-
The last time I saw it was more than 25 years ago.
The first time I saw it I was somewhere between 9 and 12 years old.
Every time I saw it, it made an impression.
It hung on the south wall of the dining room of a house in Centerville owned by a man by the name of John Nixon.
Sometime or other, over the years, I'm sure I've written a column about John.
He was a butcher in Centerville, a guy who made his living with his hands.
But he was also one of the greatest collectors of Indiana art in history, building his collection with an extraordinary eye.
How my father had come to know him, I've never been sure. But there was a time, somewhere in the very late 1950s and early 1960s, that visits to John's Prairie-style brick home on National Road in Centerville became pretty frequent.
And there was a time, after college and when Connie and I were starting a family, that the two of us also liked to stop in for a visit.
It was like visiting an old uncle or distant relative, who just happened to have every available bit of wall space in his house covered with the most extraordinary pictures.
All of the big names of Indiana art were there, the great regional impressionists whose work is so valued today.
Names like T.C. Steele and John Elwood Bundy and Wayman Adams and Otto Stark and J. Ottis Adams and George H. Baker and the Overbeck sisters and more were represented in John's collection.
But, of all the pieces, the one that made the most impression was that painting on the north wall of the dining room.
It was called "Wet Night in February" and it was the work of a Richmond-area artist by the name of Charles Conner, whose art career was brief, as was his life.
Born in Richmond in 1857, Conner was one of those natural talents.
For awhile as a young man, he worked for the Hoosier Drill Company, painting lettering and small pictures on farm equipment, the sorts of things you often see at the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show.
During another period, he and his brother sought their fortunes in California, where he painted and sketched before returning to Richmond in 1895.
As the story goes, Conner and his three brothers played in a ragtime type of group called Conner's Orchestra. As John Nixon told the story, "Wet Night in February" was painted after a wee small hours walk home after a gig at a club in Richmond. As I recall, John told me it was painted on paper used to wrap large bundles of tobacco. Conner was just scraping by, and he took his materials where he could find them.
I couldn't reproduce the painting for you in words, and I've probably confused the image in my memory. I know for certain that I'm remembering it larger than it actually was.
But I will never forget the emotional impact it had, the visceral punch in the gut that a great painting can have.
Obviously, I wasn't the only one who saw it that way.
When Indiana artists were invited to enter a juried show to determine a single painting to be sent to the St. Louis Exposition in 1904, "Wet Night in February" was selected. Word is, it received great acclaim at the exposition.
How it ended up in John's collection I'll never know, but I know John was a savvy, if not ruthless, collector.
Sadly, Charles Conner died a year after his masterpiece was honored.
The last exhibit devoted to his work was held a year after his death, in 1906.
And that might be the end of the story, except for a guy by the name of Shaun Dingwerth, who is director of the Richmond Art Museum.
He's in the process of putting together the first Conner exhibition in more than 100 years. Because of the shortness of Conner's career, there aren't a lot of paintings. For years, the rumor was that there were only 50 in total; but Dingwerth has put that myth to rest.
So far, he's assembled 48 of Conner's oil paintings and a number of his sketches and drawings for an exhibit that begins this June.
Connie and I are delighted to have the pleasure of lending two Conner works - a small oil painting and a California sketch - that I inherited from my parents.
But the best news is that the exhibit will include "Wet Night in February." It's now in the hands of one of the state's most dedicated collectors of Indiana art but will be lent for the summer to the Richmond show.
I'm looking forward to getting acquainted with it - I almost said "her" - again.
It will be an emotional reunion.[[In-content Ad]]
The first time I saw it I was somewhere between 9 and 12 years old.
Every time I saw it, it made an impression.
It hung on the south wall of the dining room of a house in Centerville owned by a man by the name of John Nixon.
Sometime or other, over the years, I'm sure I've written a column about John.
He was a butcher in Centerville, a guy who made his living with his hands.
But he was also one of the greatest collectors of Indiana art in history, building his collection with an extraordinary eye.
How my father had come to know him, I've never been sure. But there was a time, somewhere in the very late 1950s and early 1960s, that visits to John's Prairie-style brick home on National Road in Centerville became pretty frequent.
And there was a time, after college and when Connie and I were starting a family, that the two of us also liked to stop in for a visit.
It was like visiting an old uncle or distant relative, who just happened to have every available bit of wall space in his house covered with the most extraordinary pictures.
All of the big names of Indiana art were there, the great regional impressionists whose work is so valued today.
Names like T.C. Steele and John Elwood Bundy and Wayman Adams and Otto Stark and J. Ottis Adams and George H. Baker and the Overbeck sisters and more were represented in John's collection.
But, of all the pieces, the one that made the most impression was that painting on the north wall of the dining room.
It was called "Wet Night in February" and it was the work of a Richmond-area artist by the name of Charles Conner, whose art career was brief, as was his life.
Born in Richmond in 1857, Conner was one of those natural talents.
For awhile as a young man, he worked for the Hoosier Drill Company, painting lettering and small pictures on farm equipment, the sorts of things you often see at the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show.
During another period, he and his brother sought their fortunes in California, where he painted and sketched before returning to Richmond in 1895.
As the story goes, Conner and his three brothers played in a ragtime type of group called Conner's Orchestra. As John Nixon told the story, "Wet Night in February" was painted after a wee small hours walk home after a gig at a club in Richmond. As I recall, John told me it was painted on paper used to wrap large bundles of tobacco. Conner was just scraping by, and he took his materials where he could find them.
I couldn't reproduce the painting for you in words, and I've probably confused the image in my memory. I know for certain that I'm remembering it larger than it actually was.
But I will never forget the emotional impact it had, the visceral punch in the gut that a great painting can have.
Obviously, I wasn't the only one who saw it that way.
When Indiana artists were invited to enter a juried show to determine a single painting to be sent to the St. Louis Exposition in 1904, "Wet Night in February" was selected. Word is, it received great acclaim at the exposition.
How it ended up in John's collection I'll never know, but I know John was a savvy, if not ruthless, collector.
Sadly, Charles Conner died a year after his masterpiece was honored.
The last exhibit devoted to his work was held a year after his death, in 1906.
And that might be the end of the story, except for a guy by the name of Shaun Dingwerth, who is director of the Richmond Art Museum.
He's in the process of putting together the first Conner exhibition in more than 100 years. Because of the shortness of Conner's career, there aren't a lot of paintings. For years, the rumor was that there were only 50 in total; but Dingwerth has put that myth to rest.
So far, he's assembled 48 of Conner's oil paintings and a number of his sketches and drawings for an exhibit that begins this June.
Connie and I are delighted to have the pleasure of lending two Conner works - a small oil painting and a California sketch - that I inherited from my parents.
But the best news is that the exhibit will include "Wet Night in February." It's now in the hands of one of the state's most dedicated collectors of Indiana art but will be lent for the summer to the Richmond show.
I'm looking forward to getting acquainted with it - I almost said "her" - again.
It will be an emotional reunion.[[In-content Ad]]
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