T. C. Steele

Who was T. C. Steele?

Theodore Clement Steele was an American Impressionist painter known for his Indiana landscapes. Steele was an innovator and leader in American Midwest painting and is considered to be the most important of Indiana's Hoosier Group painters. In addition to painting, Steele contributed writings, public lectures, and hours of community service on art juries that selected entries for national and international exhibitions, most notably the Universal Exposition in Paris, France, and the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis, Missouri. He was also involved in organizing pioneering art associations such as the Society of Western Artists.

Steele’s work has appeared in a number of prestigious exhibitions, including the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois; the Five Hoosier Painters exhibition in Chicago; the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis; the International Exhibit of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile; and at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California.

Steele’s work is widely collected by museums and individuals. His paintings in public collections include those of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Indiana University Art Museum in Bloomington, Indiana, among others.