The artist Theodore Clement Steele (1847–1926) was a member of the famous
Hoosier Group of American regional impressionist painters that also included
William Forsyth,
J. Ottis Adams, Richard B. Gruelle, and
Otto Stark. Born in
Owen County, Indiana, Steele began studying art at an early age. He attended Waveland Collegiate Institute in
Montgomery County, Indiana, and briefly studied painting in
Chicago and
Cincinnati before moving to
Indianapolis to become a portrait painter. Steele spent five years (1880–85) studying art at the
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, before returning to Indianapolis to resume his career. Although Steele made his living painting portraits, he is best known for his landscapes. Steele was elected an Associate Artist to the
National Academy of Design in
New York City in 1913, confirming his standing as the most famous
Hoosier artist of his time. Steele was also a former president of the
Society of Western Artists. Steele's work has been exhibited across the United States. Three of his paintings were accepted into the prestigious
Panama–Pacific International Exposition in
San Francisco,
California, in 1915.
Studio and home Around 1905–06, while Steele was exploring new landscapes to paint, he discovered a scenic and isolated area of
Brown County, Indiana. In 1907 he purchased of land approximately one and a half miles south of
Belmont, between Bloomington and
Nashville, Indiana, and had a hilltop studio and home built on the property. Steele moved into the new summer residence with
Selma Neubacher Steele, his second wife, in August 1907. Steele and his wife developed the property slowly, over time. In 1911 they purchased additional acreage to increase their property to of land, and made further improvements that included an enlarged home surrounded by beautiful gardens, a barn-sized studio and art gallery, and several other outbuildings. The site became their year-round residence in 1912. Although the property in rural Brown County remained Steele's primary residence, he maintained a studio in Indianapolis. Beginning in 1922, when Steele was named IU's artist-in-residence, he also maintained a winter home in Bloomington and a studio on the school's campus. In July 1945 Selma donated the Brown County property of more than to the Indiana Department of Conservation (the present-day
Indiana Department of Natural Resources) to establish the historic site in her husband's honor. The property included the house, its furnishings and
decorative arts, a large studio, other outbuildings and structures, and more than 300 of her husband's paintings. The site was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as the Theodore Clement Steele House and Studio. The 211-acre property includes several structures, landscaped grounds and gardens, five hiking trails, and a nature preserve. ==Description==