In this painting by Hoosier Group member Richard Gruelle—his masterpiece—the artist combined observation and invention to depict downtown Indianapolis at the end of the 1800s. Unlike most Hoosier Group scenes, which evoke a general sense of the Indiana landscape, the image in this canvas is an identifiable location. The Indiana capitol building, constructed a few years earlier, rises in the center of the composition and casts its reflection in the waters of the canal. Behind and to the left of the capitol is a monument in the shape of an obelisk that commemorates the Civil War and the victory of the Union over the Confederacy. The obelisk was under construction while this canvas was being painted, so Gruelle used his imagination to complete the structure. The tiny figure of a woman in a red hat crossing the bridge over the canal creates a striking focal point that draws the viewer into this serene morning landscape.
The Indianapolis Museum of Art has an extensive collection of works by Indiana artists, including the Hoosier Group, who in the late 1800s and early 1900s rendered their state’s landscapes in an Impressionist style. Besides Gruelle, the group included T.C. Steele, J. Ottis Adams, William Forsyth, and Otto Stark. Gruelle, who was largely self-taught, was the only one of the group who did not study abroad.
The Hoosier Group was a circle of Indiana painters nationally recognized as among the most important regional artists who painted in the Impressionist style.
