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Published:
Jul/Aug 2004
Jul/Aug 2004
Top: A portrait of Roscoe Misselhorn, who was called the Norman Rockwell of the Midwest, hanging in the Misselhorn Gallery in Sparta. Susan G. Holtzman, The Tourism Bureau Southwestern Illinois photo
Below: The William and Florence Schmidt Art Center in Belleville features more than 400 sculptures, paintings, photos and more.
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museums and events for art enthusiasts.
By Julie Failla Earhart
rt is almost impossible to define. It’s a wide-ranging expression that includes glass, jewelry, drawings, photography, food, wool, clay and more. And if you look hard enough, you can find all these things in the least likely places in southwestern Illinois. “One might say art meets agriculture here in the heartland,” said jo kathmann, executive director of The Tourism Bureau Southwestern Illinois.
Southwestern Illinois encompasses 210 communities, many of which are small artists’ colonies, in eight counties covering 4,488 square miles where more than 600,000 people reside. A little more than two years ago, kathmann teamed with Marketing Director Pat White and photographer Susan G. Holtzman to begin a continual journey that takes them to each hamlet and village.
“Our mouths have been left gaping and our socks have been knocked off more times than we can count,” kathmann said. “We have uncovered incredible festivals, amazing galleries, tucked-away museums and met the most delightful people.”
Major Festivals
One of the best ways to forget about the Midwest heat and humidity is to enjoy one of the many art shows that are held in Southwestern Illinois. Here are two upcoming events:
• Highland Street Art Festival: Downtown Square, Highland; Aug. 7–8, 10 a.m. till dark; free. For more details, call (618) 654-3721.
Artists using chalks and tempera paints will, literally, get down on their hands and knees for this fundraising effort to revitalize Highland’s historic area. Holli Martin, Highland Chamber of Commerce executive director, is expecting more than 75 artists to participate in coloring the streets of downtown.
“Last year we had all kinds of images,” she said, “from the traditional like the Mona Lisa to the imaginative, like cartoon space aliens.”
While visitors watch artists create their masterpieces, entertainment, food and children’s activities will be available.
• 17th Annual Midwest Salute to the Masters: Longacre Park, Fairview Heights; Aug. 28, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Aug. 29, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; free. Call (618) 632-1102, or visit www.midwestsalute.com.
Beneath dozens of tents will rest approximately 100 artists, working in 11 media, exhibiting and selling their products. This nationally recognized juried festival is always a critical and popular success. The fun kicks off with the invitation-only Prevue Party on Friday, Aug. 27, from 7–10 p.m.
“It’s a chance for art lovers to view the displays, purchase items and socialize with the artists in a casually elegant atmosphere, complete with music and food,” said Penny Struebig, Salute’s director.
The Prevue Party also offers the Best of Fairview Heights competition that celebrates one of the most often neglected art forms, the culinary arts. Three local culinary professionals judge area restaurant competitors in five categories.
One of the weekend’s hottest children’s activities is The Children’s Gallery.
“Participating artists donate two works, often worth hundreds of dollars,” Struebig said. “For seven dollars, a child can go into the gallery and select whatever piece of art he or she likes and take it home.”
After choosing, the child is encouraged to take the work to the artist’s tent and learn about how and why the piece was created. “We hope to create a lifetime impression and enjoyment of art,” she said.
Amazing Galleries and Tucked-away Museums
In addition to the festivals, a variety of galleries and museums can be found in out-of-the-way places, even a former railroad depot. These collections, which showcase works in a variety of media, are worth the search.
• Artworks Gallery: 301 West Main, Vandalia; 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday–Saturday and 1–4 p.m. Sunday; free. Call (618) 749-5256 or visit www.vandaliamainstreet.com.
This gallery is located in the upper level of the Fayette County Museum, which is housed in a historic building that is on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was constructed in 1867 as a Presbyterian Church and served its congregation until 1970. The building’s architecture is Early Gothic Revival and a rare, surviving example of ecclesiastical architectural design. The building’s exterior and interior design features represent a high degree of artistic achievement.
Artworks hosts six shows a year, each featuring approximately 30 artists displaying five works each. Upcoming judged shows include: Third Annual Watercolor Show, June 26–July 11 and the 2nd Annual Associated Artists of Central Illinois Art Show, Aug. 24–Sept. 6.
• Richard W. Bock Sculpture Museum: Greenville College, Greenville; open only by appointment during the summer; free. Call (618) 664-6724 or (618) 664-0097, or visit www.greenville.edu/campus/bock.
In the original 1855 college building on the Greenville College campus sits a tiny museum that has major significance for late-19th and early-20th century sculpture.
Richard W. Bock studied in Berlin and Paris before opening his first permanent studio in Chicago in 1891. His first major commission was for the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition, where he designed the exterior architectural sculpture for two main buildings and minor works for private groups. He won many national competitions, including the commission to cast the Elijah P. Lovejoy Monument in Alton, Ill., a bronze group in Chickamauga, Ga., and a figural group for the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. Bock worked exclusively from 1903–13 with Frank Lloyd Wright, who became a close friend. Wright even designed a house for him.
When Bock died in California in 1949, many of his works had been in storage since 1932. His children presented the collection to Greenville College in 1972 on the condition that they be placed in a permanent exhibit. The collection contains more than 300 plaster and bronze sculptures in various stages of development, drawings, documents, photographs and several of Wright’s architectural renderings and personal letters between Bock’s daughter and Wright.
Two highlights of the museum’s collection are two art glass pieces designed by Wright for the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, Ill., including a lamp and a window. The window is presently on loan for a Wright exhibition in Kansas, but the lamp is on display.
• V.W. Maves Art Center, Greenville College, Greenville; Call (618) 664-6519 for hours and information, or visit the Web site www.greenville.edu.
Located on Beaumont Avenue in the former Coast to Coast Hardware building, the center was funded in the spring of 2003 with a $300,000 comprehensive campaign contribution by Dr. Vivien Wallace Maves, a 1928 Greenville College graduate. The 12,000-square-foot building now includes classrooms, offices, sculpture and ceramic studios, a wood shop, and individual studio space for seniors. A gallery that presents works of art is open daily when school is in session, including the summer session. And while in Greenville, don’t forget to view the outside murals on several historic buildings.
• The Misselhorn Gallery: 611 W. Second Street, Sparta; 1–5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and by appointment. For details, call (618) 443-5668, or visit the Web site www.egyptian.net/~mgallery.
Sparta is home to The Old GM&O Depot where the 1967 Best Picture of the Year, “In the Heat of the Night,” was filmed. The depot contains a permanent exhibit of movie-making memorabilia, but it is also home to The Misselhorn Gallery. The gallery contains more than 2,000 original sketches, paintings, block prints, ink drawings, cartoons and advertising art created by Roscoe Misselhorn (1902–1997), dubbed the Norman Rockwell of the Midwest.
Misselhorn gained fame during the 1930s–50s for his sketches of historic locations in Illinois, Missouri and New Orleans. His first book, “Sketching in Pencil,” was published in 1949 and is still in print today. In the 1940s and ’50s, national magazines published his work. Six major exhibition categories include Depots and Stops, Rural Industry, Coal Mines, Riverfront Life, Courthouses and Landmarks, and Monuments.
• The William and Florence Schmidt Art Center: Southwestern Illinois College, 2500 Carlyle, Belleville; 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday; 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Thursday; free. Call (618) 222-5278, or visit www.swicfoundation.com/artcenter.html.
Among this dazzling display of classic and modern art are more than 400 sculptures, paintings, photographs, lithographs and monographs in one-, two- and three-dimensional forms from some of the world’s best known artists including Salvador Dali and Ansel Adams. Three special exhibits will run July 8 through Aug. 21, including photographs by St. Louis photographer Ken Konchel, an exhibit called “Air Force Art,” and a small sculpture exhibition from the college’s collection.
The outdoor Sculpture Walk consists of nine original sculptures. The heaviest, cast of white carrar marble, weighs 35,000 pounds. The largest is a 17-foot-high painted steel memorial to the center's benefactors, William and Florence Schmidt. The smallest is about five feet tall. Other types of materials include painted aluminum, galvanized and stainless steel, granite and bronze.
Long known as fertile farm country, southwestern Illinois is now seeing art galleries and exhibits sprout up, too. Art enthusiasts can take advantage of the bounty. •
Julie Failla Earhart is a contributor from the St. Louis area.
