Haan Museum of Indiana Art (Part 1)

last week(edited)

How do you do?

The final stop in my 2026 trip to Lafayette, Indiana was the Haan Museum of Indiana Art. Located in a mansion that was part of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, the Haan is packed with paintings and ceramics by local Indiana artists, as well as antique furniture/furnishings. There is also a quaint sculpture garden on the premises.

I had to break up this post into two sections due to size limits. This first portion will cover the first floor of the mansion.

These are my completed Indiana posts:

G1: Fort Wayne Zoo

G2: Potawatomi Zoo

G3: Columbian Park Zoo

G4: Art Museum of Greater Lafayette

G5: Haan Museum of Indiana Art (Part 1) (this post)

G6: Haan Museum of Indiana Art (Part 2)

I've been steadily working on my backlog of Indiana tourist attractions:

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art
Indianapolis Zoo
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, and Holcomb Observatory
Garfield Park Conservatory
Eiteljorg Museum
Kurt Vonnegut Museum
Crispus Attucks Museum

All of the pictures in this post were taken by me. If you want to use any of my photos, please contact me to first obtain permission. Of course the copyrights to the art itself belongs to the appropriate artists, who I have credited/referenced. If any artists want me to remove images of their work, I will do so.

HAAN MUSEUM OF INDIANA ART

920 State Street
Lafayette, Indiana 47905

Website: https://thehaan.org/

Hours:

Wednesday - Saturday: 1 PM - 4 PM

Cost (as of 2026):

Adult: $12
Youth (Ages 5 - 17): $6

The sculpture garden is free to the public and open every day from dawn until dusk.

Parking is free.

Estimated Time: 1 hour.

I spent 1 hour inside the museum building (which was plenty of time to see everything) and then 30 minutes outside at the sculpture garden.

SUMMARY

I enjoyed my visit to the Haan Museum of Indiana Art, though the art museum may not be for everyone. On the plus side, you get to see plenty of paintings, ceramics, and sculptures packed in a historic mansion. The antique furniture and furnishings add an additional layer to help visitors appreciate the past. On the other hand, the scope is limited because the emphasis is on Indiana artists and the admission price of $12 is a bit pricey for 1 hour of museum time.

Artwork in the Haan Museum was generally labeled (as opposed to the Winchester Mystery House, Leland Stanford Mansion, and Ca' d'Zan) though some of the labels were bare bones descriptions. I did find the staff picks to be refreshing, whereby employees and volunteers at the museum wrote about their favorite pieces.

Highlights include the vast collection of Martin Grelle paintings in the 2nd floor landing depicting Native Americans, the Wooten desk in the office, the various Tuck Langland bronzes, and the Peter Rujuwa safari animal sculptures in the garden along with Roy Patrick's whimsical metal menagerie.

As an art museum, I would rate the Haan Museum of Indiana Art at a solid 3 stars. Similarly, I would also rate it at 3 stars as an architectural destination.

Here is a comparison with other art museums:

5 stars:

Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Castello Sforzesco (Milan, Italy)
Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA)
Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden (New Orleans, LA, Free)

4 stars:

The Ringling (Sarasota, FL)
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nice (Nice, France)
Musée Masséna (Nice, France)
Musei di Strada Nuova (Genoa, Italy)
Villa del Principe (Genoa, Italy)
Pinacoteca Ambrosiana (Milan, Italy)
Rodin Museum (Philadelphia, PA)
Indianapolis Museum of Art (Indianapolis, IN)
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco, CA)
Legion of Honor (San Francisco, CA)

3 stars:

Musée Matisse (Nice, France)
Palais Lascaris (Nice, France)
Musée Picasso (Antibes, France)
Museo Diocesano (Genoa, Italy)
Triton Museum of Art (Santa Clara, CA, Free)
de Young Museum (San Francisco, CA)
High Museum of Art (Atlanta, GA)
New Orleans Museum of Art (New Orleans, LA)
Haan Museum of Indiana Art (Lafayette, IN)

2 stars:

Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago, IL, Free)
Design Museum of Chicago (Chicago, IL, Free)
Musée de la Photographie Charles Nègre (Nice, France)
L'artistique (Nice, France, Free)
Musée Peynet et du Dessin Humoristique (Antibes, France)
Museo di Sant'Agostino (Genoa, Italy)
Museo del Novecento (Milan, Italy)
San Jose Museum of Art (San Jose, CA)
Rockford Art Museum (Rockford, IL, Free)
Art Museum of Greater Lafayette (Lafayette, IN, Free)
Haan Museum of Indiana Art (Lafayette, IN)

And here is how the Haan stands architecturally:

5 stars:

Castello Sforzesco (Milan, Italy)

4 stars:

Winchester Mystery House (San Jose, CA)
Chicago Cultural Center (Chicago, IL, Free)
Leland Stanford Mansion (Sacramento, CA, Free)

3 stars:

Swan House (Atlanta, GA)
Haan Museum of Indiana Art (Lafayette, IN)

2 stars:

Ca' d'Zan portion of The Ringling (Sarasota, FL)
The Rookery (Chicago, IL, Free)
Monastère de Cimiez (Nice, France, Free)
Cattedrale di San Lorenzo (Genoa, Italy, Free)
Duomo di Milano (Milan, Italy)
Chiesa di San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore (Milan, Italy, Free)

1 star:

Willis/Sears Tower Skydeck (Chicago, IL)

EXTERIOR

Generations

Tuck Langland
b. 1939

By sitting on the shoulders of a previous generation, the young child can see farther and reach further. The creative works of one generation after another are showcased here so current and future children can learn about the culture into which they were born.

Donated by Tuck and Janice Langland 2020

FRONT ENTRY

The house is patterned after the Lydia Sigourney Mansion, built in 1820, in Hartford, Connecticut. The house is a mix of Colonial Revival and Classical Revival architecture.

The entire front door assembly, including the front door, side windows, and glove closets, and the whole Entryway came from the Hubbard-Slater Mansion in Norwich, Connecticut, built in 1760. The filigree work above the front door was hand carved.

There are two Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele paintings in the front entry: one is of his daughter, Daisy, and one is of his youngest son, Shirley. There was an older son, Rembrandt (Brandt), but there are no known paintings of him.

The pier table is dated c. 1810. The legs are alabaster, and the top is marble. All the motifs are hand-painted. This is one of the oldest pieces of furniture in the house.

There are ceramic "arena" pieces from Marge Levy, who taught at Purdue.

The Cellist, 1893
Oil on canvas

Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele
1847 - 1926

This depicts Steele's son, Shirley, playing the cello. Notice how he is dressed. It was a time when artists often wore suits (or dressses for the rare female artist) when they painted.

Stoneware Dancer

George Debikey

Grandfather Clock

Badger Furniture, Indianapolis, IN

GREAT HALL

20260619_150220(0).jpg

Laura Fry
1857 - 1943

Home in the Hills, c. 1896
Oil on canvas

William Forsyth
1854 - 1935

Forsyth became the most impressionistic of the Hoosier Group artists later in his career. This painting, like most of Forsyth's work in the collection, is one of his earlier works.

Knitting the Yellow Sweater

Maude Eggemeyer
1877 - 1959

The Farm Pond
Oil on canvas

Jacob Cox
1810 - 1892

Precision Regulator, c. 1880s
Cherry, walnut, brass silver

Tiffany & Co.
American, New York

Tiffany Hanging Wall Clock. Precision Regulator, Renaissance Revival.

Made for the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. An Egyptian cameo at the top signals the Egyptian Revival style. Two glass vials of mercury suspended from the pendulum compensate for temperature-induced length changes - keeping the clock accurate to about one second per month.

Munich Interior Scene

Samuel Richards
1853 - 1893

Large Decorated Plate
Dimensions: 1" x 18"

Jim Kemp
1955 - 2013
Greenwood, IN

Rojo con Lagrina
Dimensions: 22" dia.

David L. Gamble
Plainfield, Indiana

The Shades of Montgomery County, 1888
Oil on canvas

Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele
1847 - 1926

Art students in Germany learned to use dark underglazes and very detailed brushwork. Steele returned to Indiana in 1885, and this is typical of his paintings from the late 1880s that reflected that training.

Abstract Steel Sculpture

Ruth Medernach

Ruth Gelathorp Medernach was working in Chicago in 1943 when she met and married Robert Hatch, a Naval Lieutenant and dentist. Their son was born in 1945, but Robert died suddenly of a brain aneurism in 1963 leaving Ruth as a widow with their 11-month son.

Ruth went back to school, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics. She met Bob Medernach in Chicago through a mutual friend, and they were married in August 1951. Their twin daughters, Cynthia and Carolyn, were born in 1954. The family moved to Indianapolis in 1959, where Ruth and Bob built a mid-century modern house in which they lived for 58 years.

Ruth and Bob bought a house in Mexico in the mid-1970s, and they spent ten winters there. She studied at Instituto Allende during those periods. Ruth had been primarily a painter, but she began concentrating on sculptures in wood, bronze, welded metal and mixed media. She graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture in 1982. Ruth exhibited her work and won prizes at many local, regional and national juried art shows.

Christ Church Cathedral, 1916
Oil on canvas

Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele
1847 - 1926

T.C. and Selma Steele spent their summers in Brown County, and their winters in Indianapolis. This painting of Christ Church was completed later in Steele's career, from his winter studio on Monument Circle.

St. Louis World's Fair Memento Map Table, c. 1904

"As both a geography and history buff, I love maps. The story of the World's Fair that this map illustrates is an interesting and compelling one, and the online video is nicely narrated by Bob and Ellie Haan." - Tim Luzader (Vice President)

OFFICE

Superior Grade Wooton Desk, c. 1880

"The Wooton desk is a stunner. It's not just because of its polished wood, its brass hinges and the elaborate carvings. It's the way it unfolds to be an entire office in one piece of furniture. I just love showing this piece to guests who visit the museum. I don't think there's anyone who hasn't uttered an audible sound of appreciation, or just plain awe, when they watch this desk unfold and see all the things that are in it, like the secret compartment, and just - everything! It's a really, really fun piece!!!" - Kathy Matter (Docent)

Femme d'Afrique, 1988

Tuck Langland
b. 1939

Jury Prize of Distinction

LANGLAND RECEIVED AN MFA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. HE TAUGHT AT COLLEGES IN ENGLAND AND KENTUCKY, AND THEN AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY IN SOUTH BEND. HE WROTE TWO BOOKS - "PRACTICAL SCULPTURE" AND "FROM CLAY TO BRONZE".

LANGLAND WAS A MUSIC STUDENT AND GIFTED OPERA SINGER WHEN A DATE TOOK HIM TO AN ART MUSEUM. HE WAS SO ENTHRALLED WITH SOME SCULPTURES THAT HE DECLARED "I AM A SCULPTOR", THOUGH HE HAD NEVER ATTEMPTED TO SCULPT ANYTHING. AFTER SEEING A BUST OF NEFERTITI AT THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM IN BERLIN IN 1960, HE WANTED TO OWN A SCULPTURE OF A PRINCESS. HE MADE HIS OWN, AND THEN MADE VARIATIONS ON OTHER MASTERPIECES.

TUCK CREATED ARTWORK IN WOOD, STONE, BRONZE, AND RESIN, BUT HE IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS FIGURAL BRONZES OF DANCERS, SWIMMERS, MUSICIANS, ALIENS, SPORTS FIGURES AND HISTORIC FIGURES. HE MADE LARGE COMMISSIONED BRONZES LATER IN HIS CAREER.

LANGLAND WAS ELECTED TO THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ART, AND IS A FELLOW IN THE NATIONAL SCULPTURE SOCIETY. HIS SCULPTURES ARE FOUND IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, INCLUDING THE SMITHSONIAN AIR & SPACE MUSEUM IN WASHINGTON AND THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER IN HONOLULU. THE HAAN MUSEUM IS AMONG NUMEROUS MUSEUMS FEATURING HIS WORK.

LANGLAND EXHIBITED IN THE HOOSIER SALON BETWEEN 1980 AND 2001, AND WON ONE BEST OF SHOW, FIVE OUTSTANDING SCULPTURE, AND NINE JURY PRIZE OF DISTINCTION AWARDS IN THAT TIME. HE BEGAN TO GET COMMISSIONS FOR LARGE FIGURATIVE BRONZES IN 1996, AND BY 2000 HE WORKED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON COMMISSIONED WORKS.

Gift of Audrey Rossmann and the Rossmann Family

Women on the Porch, 1899
Oil on canvas

Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele
1847 - 1926

The Hoosier Group artists admired the Impressionist paintings that were shown in Paris, and they developed their own "Indiana Impressionism" by the early 1890s. Their paintings became lighter and looser (less detailed). The 1890s are considered Steele's best period.

Untitled Landscape

Adolph Shulz
1869 - 1963

Iris and Columbine

Ada Shulz
1870 - 1928

Pictured in "Skirting the Issue"

Munich Village, 1885
Oil on canvas

Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele
1847 - 1926

It is believed that Steele made a study for this scene shortly before he left Munich, and painted this after his return to Indiana. The amazing atmosphere that he created is one of the reasons that Steele is considered the "Master of Light".

Trapezoidal Face Pot
Dimensions: 10.5 x 17.5 x 7

Marvin Bartel
American Potter - Professor Emeritus - Goshen College

Never started out to be a face. I started out with a round circle, and needed a section to hold flowers in place.

Still Life with Flowers, 1899

William Merritt Chase
1849 - 1916

DRAWING ROOM

Weller World's Fair Vase, c. 1899
Ceramic
Aurelian
Dimensions: 60 in. tall

Weller Pottery
American, Zanesville, Ohio

One of three monumental vases shown in the Weller exhibit at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Decorated by Albert Haubrich in 1899, its yellow and red roses, green leaves, and brown stems cover much of the surface and create a swirl of color and visual depth.

Mother and Child

Lucie Hartrath
1868 - 1962

Two Boys Fishing

Adam E. Albright
1862 - 1957

"Even though this painting is from about 1902, it reminds me of my childhood days. The boy fishing reminds me of my brother Tom and the boy in the blue shirt starting at the water reminds me of me. Fishing was always a big part of our family life, and Tom fished into his 80s, but I only sporadically fished, mostly with family. The painting is very well done by an artist that specialized in paintings of children." - Bob Haan (Museum Founder & Board Member)

Dance of Life

Tuck Langland
b. 1939
Granger, IN

Vertical Reliquary

Richard Tuck

"I am struck by the architectural forms and surface treatments of Tuck's 'reliquary' ceramic series. Painted symbols nod to religious and mythological iconography from around the world. These reliquary sculptures are also designed with secret compartments designed to store sacred remains. I see these as spiritual vessels, functional and metaphorical at the same time." - Kerrie Bellisario (Executive Director)

Concert Grand Piano, c. 1874
Rosewood
Dimensions: 106 in. length

Steinway & Sons
American, New York

German immigrant Henry Engelhard Steinway founded the firm in a Manhattan loft in 1853, establishing America's foremost piano maker within two decades. By 1874, Steinway had won gold medals in New York, London, and Paris. The rosewood case was designed to complement fashionable Renaissance Revival interiors.

Bremond Swiss Music Box, c. 1880

The Old Mills

Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele
1847 - 1926

Interior Scene

Charles Conner
1857 - 1905

Parlor Cabinet, c. 1870s
Rosewood

Herter Brothers & Co.
American, New York

Recently restored. Grapes - associated with wine - and the instruments held by carved women speak to themes of abundance and celebration. A griffin carved at the top acts as guardian, a motif popular in Renaissance Revival decoration.

This female figure overflowing with fruit and wheat is Copia, the Roman goddess of plenty. She told visitors the household had not just material wealth, but cultivated, classical wealth - the finest kind.

Daisy at the River, 1891
Oil on canvas

Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele
1847 - 1926

Bob and Ellie admired this painting at an exhibition at the Brauer Museum in Valparaiso. It was owned by a relative of Steele, and the Haans were thrilled when it was offered for sale several years later.

Dance of Awakening Day

Tuck Langland
b. 1939

Renaissance Revival Pier Mirror

Mid-Century Abstract Bronze Sculpture

Joseph Goethe

HALLWAYS

Purple and Red Orange, 1916
Oil on Canvas

Otto Stark
1859 - 1926

This is a painting of Stark's oldest daughter, Gretchen. It was exhibited in Cincinnati in 1916 and in Indianapolis in 1921 and 1977.

Still Life
Oil on canvas

Winifred Brady Adams
1871 - 1955
Indiana artist

Best known as a floral still life painter. Married to artist J. Ottis Adams of the Hoosier Group.

Fall Creek Mill

R B Gruelle
1851 - 1914

Sheep in a Pasture

R B Gruelle
1851 - 1914

Cows in a Pasture

R B Gruelle
1851 - 1914

Parlor Table, 1870 - 1875
Rosewood
Dimensions: H. 30 x W. 60 x D. 35 in.

Unknown Provenance

This large Neo-Grec table represents the high standard of American Renaissance Revival furniture production in the 1870s - the height of fashionable taste in New York interiors of the period. It retains its original French-polished finish, a labor-intensive lacquer technique prized by Victorian cabinetmakers. In excellent condition.

This surface is made of dozens of pieces of differently coloured wood, cut and fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle. No paint was used. The image is made entirely of wood grain.

PARLOR

This room was the Parlor at the St. Louis World's Fair, and it remains so to this day. A parlor is a living or sitting room used primarily for family or smaller gatherings with friends.

The Parlor has a representative picture from each man from the five-man Hoosier Group. This group of men represents Indiana's most famous artists, with Steele and Adams being the most important of the five. Steele, Adams, and Forsyth studied in Munich, Stark in Paris, and Gruelle is self-taught. Counter-clockwise, from "south" windows:

- Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele - Mysterious River, 1895
- J Ottis Adams - Mississinewa River, 1895
- Otto Stark - Suzanne in the Garden, 1904
- Richard Gruelle - Misty Harbor, 1898
- William Forsyth - Farm Near Vernon, 1891
- Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele - Still Life with Oranges, 1897

Gruelle left us an additional legacy, as his sons, Johnny and Justin, wrote and illustrated the Raggedy Anne and Andy series. Johnny based Raggedy Anne on James Whitcomb Riley's "Little Orphan Annie" and "The Raggedy Man."

The Swivel Chair is by Marvin Bartel. He started the ceramics program at Goshen College. There are many of Marvin's pieces in the house, plus three in the Sculpture Garden, and all are whimsical.

The 53" vase in the corner is an Eocean Vase. It is the smallest of three Weller vases in the house, though there are two smaller vases in the "set."

The lampshade on the marble-based lamp is hand-carved alabaster.

Suzanne in the Garden, 1904

Otto Stark
1859 - 1926

Farm Near Vernon, 1891
Oil on canvas

William Forsyth
1854 - 1935

Vernon is a very small town in Southern Indiana. This painting is featured on the front cover of Rachel Perry's Book, "William Forsyth: The Life and Work of an Indiana Artist."

Figural Table Lamp
Alabaster and marble
Carved shade

Gail Johnston

Les Miley

US House of Representatives Desk

Doe Hazelton Co.
Boston
Used in Congress 1857 - 1873

Desk of Thaddeus Stevens (1792 - 1868) from the House of Representatives

U.S. representative and lawyer, Thaddeus Stevens fought for the abolition of slavery during Abraham Lincoln's presidency and ultimately came to aid in the drafting of the 14th amendment.

Stevens was born on April 4, 1792 in Danville, Vermont. He was a radical republican leader and one of the most powerful members in the U.S. House of Representatives. He dominated the House during Reconstruction and focused much of his political attention on civil rights. Stevens died in Washington, D.C. on August 11, 1868.

FAMILY ROOM

Haan Mansion

Harry Davis
1914 - 2006

"My favorite piece in the museum changes from day-to-day. But I'm picking this piece because of its historical significance. Not only is it the official portrait of the house, but it represents the 90th anniversary of the 1904 St Louis World's Fair, as well as Bob and Ellie Haan's 25th wedding anniversary. when Bob and Ellie went to check on the painting, Bob commented on the lack of curtains in the Family Room windows. Harry said he could paint them in, but Bob said not to, as it gave them a sense of time: the curtains were down, as they were wallpapering the room. I have adopted this piece for several years." - Sally Carter (Head Docent, Head of Kitchen Crew)

Lamp from Potter Estate

Gift of Van Marshall

House of the Singing Winds, 1916
Oil on canvas

Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele
1847 - 1926

This is the Brown County home that Steele built with his second wife, Selma. It is now an Indiana State Historic Site that features Steele's studio and some of his paintings.

Peter Rajuwa

Vase, c. 1900
Ceramic
Dimensions: 56 in. tall

Weller Pottery
American, Ohio

The smallest of three monumental World's Fair vases in the Haan collection, and the only one from the popular Eocean line. Eugene Roberts decorated it in 1900 with large, colorful chrysanthemums built up in heavy slip - giving the flowers a three-dimensional quality. The delicate, transitioning colors make the vase seem alive.

Indian Encampment
Oil on canvas
Along the Wabash River

George Winter
1810 - 1876

Grand Gothic Clock

Girl on a Hill

Olive Rush
1873 - 1966

Pictured in "Skirting the Issue"

Olive Rush was raised on a farm at Rush Hill, near Fairmount, Indiana. Her first recollection of artistic endeavors was when she was three years old. She was trying to draw a horse, and suddenly she recognized her creation as a horse. She was ecstatic, as she viewed it as assurance that she would be an artist.

She studied at Earlham College, Corcoran School of Art, the New York Art Student League, and the Academie de la Grand Chaumiere in Paris, receiving numerous honors for her work.

Rush moved to Santa Fe in 1920, where she was attracted by the desert, the light, and the scale of the sky. She enjoyed the absence of societal restrictions that were placed on women artists, but continued to participate in art exhibitions in Indiana.

Rush supervised mural painting at the Santa Fe Indian School in 1952, and also painted numerous murals for public institutions.

"One of the first "Peek of the Week" series posts that I made. (Check out my full thoughts on Instagram!) I was proud of that initial work I did here as a curatorial intern and this piece reminds me of that. It still brings me a lot of joy to look at." - Wendy Guerrero-Lopez (Curatorial Intern)

DINING ROOM

The glass in the arch and the pocket doors were added when the house was moved to Lafayette.

The corner cabinets were in the house at the Fair and were probably salvaged from a c. 1760 house in Connecticut.

Mary Sixbey created the Bird's Nest fused glass piece. She designed the stained-glass window in the Swezey Indiana Room at the Tippecanoe County Public Library. You will see another piece of hers in the Master Bedroom.

The grandfather clock and dining room table are by Horner Brothers. When the leaves are removed from the table, it collapses into a pedestal table.

Dick Lehman, a student of Marvin Bartel, did the ceramic camera by the window. The image you see is an upside-down image of the outside scene, which is correct for the glass-plate camera.

The blue glass andirons at the fireplace were purchased by Ellie Haan at a garage sale, here in Lafayette, just because she liked them, Ellie found out later they are by Zimmerman Glass, founded in 1942, in Corydon, Indiana.

Corner Cabinet

Bird's Nest
Glass, wood

Mary Sixbey
1928 - 2018

Grandfather Clock, c. 1890
Mahogany
Dimensions: 10 ft. tall

R.J. Horner & Co.
American, New York

Robert J. Horner founded his Manhattan firm in 1886, known for first-class furniture featuring winged griffins and mythic carvings. This clock is elaborately decorated with maidens, winged griffins, and florals - hallmarks of the Renaissance Revival at its most ornate.

Melusine: A woman whose lower body becomes a serpent. Rooted in medieval legend, she embodied the mystery of time and origin. Her presence on a cabinet connected the domestic home to ancient, cyclical forces.

Dick Lehman

Maiden

L.O. Griffith
1875 - 1956

On the Muscatatuck, 1886
Oil on canvas

Theodore Clement (T.C.) Steele
1847 - 1926

While boarding with the McIlroy family, Steele studied the bleached limestone river ranks of Muscatatuck. This is the first of what was then considered western art to be purchased by any Eastern art club.

China Cabinet
Walnut

Attributed to Thomas Brooks
American, New York

Joe Molinaro

BUTLER'S PANTRY

Gargoyle Teapot

Tracy Gamble

Wash Day

Ada Shulz
1870 - 1928

Kathleen Kitch

Multicolor Teapot with Sculpted Lid

Marcy Neiditz
b. 1958

Rolling Chicken Tura

Marvin Bartel

KITCHEN

At the Fair, the Kitchen was upstairs. When the house was moved here, the first-floor veranda was shortened for the addition of the Kitchen and the Breakfast Nook, which is located behind the Kitchen.

We have no idea what the Kitchen looked like in 1904, though research can give us a general idea. The movie, "Meet Me in St Louis", has several scenes shot in a kitchen, which is a fun resource.

The Potters remodeled the Kitchen in the 1940s. The walls were floor-to-ceiling lime green tile, and the floor tiles were red and white. The metal cabinets were white and are now used in the basement for extra storage.

In 2004, while the house was celebrating 100-years, the Kitchen and Butler's Pantry were remodeled to what you see now. Bob Haan designed the Kitchen to have the appliances (except the commercial range) integrated into the cabinetry. The design features elements inspired by architecture or furniture from within the house.

The stained-glass windows are by Bob Haan's cousin, Jim Klaiber, who was an art teacher in Logansport, Indiana. There are about 500-pieces of glass in each unit. The cardinal is Indiana's state bird.

On the windowsill is a fused-glass plate by Kathleen Kitch, a member of Artists' Own, and vases by Sharon Owens, of Inspired Fire. Several pieces of ceramics by Scott Frankenberger are also on display in the Kitchen.

Denny Kuns, of Camden, Indiana did all of the kitchen-work, except the cabinets. Metzger Wood-working, of Mulberry, Indiana, did the cabinetry.

Jim Klaiber

Kathleen Kitch

LANDING

The saddle in the corner is by Dick Lehman, a student of Marvin Bartel (Swivel Chair). Lehman also made the camera in the Dining Room.

All of the paintings in the stairwell depicting Native Americans are by Martin Grelle (Gre-lee), a member of the Cowboy Artists of America. He is a currently active, 60-plus-years-old, living in Clifton, Texas. The Haans started collecting his work in 1998 and bought three or four pieces each year for several years.

He is currently the most sought-after active western artist. All of these paintings were painted between 1995 and 2004.

The Haans consider these paintings their retirement, and they will not be turned over to the museum.

Dick Lehman

All paintings by Martin Grelle

Telling the Tale

Martin Grelle

"All of Grelle's works are my favorite. The detail is wonderful and he depicts Native Americans as an intrinsic part of the landscape, not shaping it." - Ted Sharp (Volunteer)