Door County's Art History by Lorraine Mengert Door County's Art History by Lorraine Mengert ii This book is dedicated to Madeline Tourtelot, whose desire it was to see Art Education flourish in Door County. Through her efforts ·art classes were made available to everyone and to this day, opportunities continue to expand. iii ACKNOWL EDGM ENTS Thank yous are extended to Baylake Bank's Cliff & Clara Herlache Foundation, the Door County Historical Society and the Raibrook Foundation for Grants. I want to thank all the directors of each gallery, organization and school who willingly read and corrected or added to the book text submitted to them. Also, thanks to others whose knowledge helped me to fi nd details often hidden over periods of time: Door County Advocate Dorothy Cole, daughter of F. DeForrest Schook Mary Ann J ohnson, a Baileys Harbor historian Peninsula Music Festival 35th Anniversary publication Betsy Guenzel, one of Vladimir Rousseff's students Ginka Cohn & Elvera Gilbert for the dance class memories Erik Eriksson for some of the Birch Creek material J ames & Carole Maronek for their knowledge of The Poplars Maggie Magerstadt Rosner for her memories of the Buchbinders Charles Wiley, "Did the Eagle Get You Or. Moss?" Many more thanks to Chan Harris for reading the text and proofing it historically as well as for the usual grammatical flaws. And finally, thanks lo Jeanne Desotelle, the director of the Door County Libraries for her cooperation in allowing me to duplicate the texts so they could be shared with t.he many people necessary to come to the conclusion, the printing. Copyrjght 1996 by Lorraine Mengert iv Table of Contents DEDICATION ........ ........ ........ .. m ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .. ...... ............. iv PREFACE ................................ 1 VISUAL ARTS Door County Artists ................. ...... 5 Schook's School ....... .... ...... ...... ... 19 The 30's, The 40's ... .... ..... ....... ....... 25 Peninsula Art School ........... .... ......... 31 The Clearing .. ............. ............. 39 Peninsula Arts Assn . ..... ............ ...... 43 Francis Hardy Gallery ....................... 49 Peninsula Arts & Humanities Alliance ......... ... 53 Bjorklunden, Boynton Chapel. ..... ...... ...... 57 Roadstead Foundation ...... .. .......... 63 DC Summer Cultural Center ... ... ... ... ..... 69 Miller Art Center ...... ..... ... ....... .. ... 71 Sievers School of Fiber Arts .......... .. ....... 77 Door County Art League ..................... 81 MUSIC Arens Art Colony ... ... ...... ........... ... 85 Peninsula Music Festival. ....... ....... ...... 87 Birch Creek Music Center ..... ...... ......... 93 Midsummer's Music ............. .. ......... 97 THEATER Peninsula Players ...... ...... ..... ... ... .. 101 American Folklore Theatre .......... .... ..... 103 Peninsula Arts Theater ..... ...... ........ 111 Blue Circle Theater ........................ 113 Island Players ................ ........... 115 DA CE Peninsula Dance ... ... .................... 119 MISCELLANEOUS Silver Poplars ................ .. ...... 125 Ridges Sanctuary ................ ........ 129 Door Community Auditorium ................. 131 v DOOR COUNTY'S ART HISTORY Preface Door County has been here for centuries and along with its presence has been its beauty. As long as this peninsula has been inhabited, its beauty has been enjoyed and recorded in many forms ..... the written word, song and visual images. When did we finally find the opportunity and need to put things down to share with others? The early 1920's were magic years. What was going on in the world at that time? The art of the Impressionists was joined by that of the Cubists, Expressionists, Surrealists and generally an abstract expression of the times. Names in the art world included Kandinsky, Klee, Leger, Munch, Picasso, Feininger, Matisse, Monet. The public was enjoying the literary works of Agatha Christie, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, A.A. Milne and Carl Sandberg, and the music of Jerome Kern, Franz Lehar, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky and Paul Whiteman. In their social lives?????? prohibition went into effect and women gained the right to vote. Harding was president and Gandhi emerged as the leader of India's drive toward independence. And what about Door County? The 1920's were the recorded beginning with the history of Schook's art school. County visitors of the 30's brought their interests and appreciation of the arts, and at that point the organization of arts activities was born. So, I followed its growth. I felt the need to put together the bits and pieces about the arts in Door County that I found in old newspapers, magazines and in the Laurie History Room of the Sturgeon Bay library. 1 To allow you, the reader, to enjoy this history as a nar­ rative, I have written the story of the artists as one chap­ ter, and then each organization, school, or arts group is dealt with in depth on an individual basis. Though the visual arts are the primary concern of this documentat ion, music, drama and dance cannot be sepa­ rated and forgotten. Visual arts is merely a portion of the whole circle of Door County's cult ural beauty. The most difficult part of this task has been the attempt to record the arts scene as it exists today. I have become increasingly aware, as 1 have procrastinated about putting these pages together, that we are living in 'history'. The growth and development is so rapid that as I reread, I am constantly forced to make changes. May you find yourself eager to share in this history, and obviously, in the future of the Arts in Door County. 2 VISUAL ARTS 3 4 DOOR COUNTY ARTISTS: There was a time in Door County before art galleries, but, there was never a time that people couldn't appreciate the beauty of the peninsula. When the snow melted from the fields and the pink and white blossoms popped on the trees, the temptation was there to record it on paper or canvas. Door County boasts a number of resident-artists whose work and lives have been a great influence on their many followers during this past century. One very early Door County artist, Vida Weborg, was born in 1864 on a farm that is now part of the Peninsula State Park. She had received her art training in Chicago, taught school in Chicago.IL., California and other states, and is noted in the county for illustrating her sister's book "In Viking Land", published in 1901, and Holand's popular "Old Peninsula Days." A beautiful oil painting, "Victorian Still Life," is in the Miller Art Center's permanent collec­ tion. She died in 1951 at 87 years of age. Jessie Kalmbach Chase, born in Baileys Harbor in 1879, received her art education at the Art Institute of Chicago. Best known for her oil paintings, plus occasional murals in oil or fresco, she also worked in watercolor and serigraphy, using many familiar Door County scenes for her subject m.atter. She was married to Wilfred Chase of Madison, who died in 1949. 5 Jessie had been included in exhibitions in Door County as early as 1949, and becoming very respected, was invit­ ed to have a one-woman show during the Music Festival. She had her own studio-home in Sturgeon Bay during the 60's, but died at the age of 90 as a resident of a Green Bay nursing home in 1969. She is well remembered in Door County through her artworks in the collection of the Miller Art Center plus those privately owned. Gerhard Miller, born in 1903, is a master in egg tempera and watercolor, with his home and gallery on Bay Shore Drive in Sturgeon Bay. The son of a Sturgeon Bay clothier, he was prepared to run the fa mily business. His real inter­ est was painting, and eventually he directed all his efforts and talent to his artwork, opening a gallery in his home in 1958, expanding it later to a separate building. Gerhard had become an acclaimed artist well ahead of opening the gallery. In 1943 he was a sought after teacher in the county. He held classes one afternoon a week from October to l\llay at The Clearing in Ellison Bay. His wife would join him on the trek and if the weather was bad they would simply stay overnight. He was also actively involved in the Peninsula Arts Association, teaching classes and sharing in exhibitions. He has afforded Door County artistic aspirants many opportunities to take classes through these many years. Today, in his 90's, he is one of the county's most outstand­ ing artists. His gift of the Miller Art Center in the 70's was an important addition to the county. During the 50's and 60's, while Gerhard Miller had a second gallery/clothing store at the Red Barns north of Ephraim, Charlie Lyons, another native son, added the Paint Box Gallery in the same complex. He continues in that same location with his hand-colored woodcuts plus the work of many more artists, and the painting supplies sought after by the county's art students. 6 Charlie grew up in Sturgeon Bay, served in the Marine Corp during the Vietnam War and attended the University of Wisconsin. Though he taught at Madison Area Technical College and the University, he enjoyed his opportunity to return to Door County. He not only operated the gallery, but from 1975 to 1988 he was the Curator at the Miller Ai·t Center in Sturgeon Bay. His talents are often garnered for hanging shows for special exhibitions throughout the county. Joan Champeau, Sister Bay artist and gallery owner, continues in the longest Door County art heritage of any of today's gallery owners. Her great-grandfather, Andre Roeser, came to Sister Bay in 1877. In 1946 her father, Otto Vieth, exhibited his landscapes in his Sister Bay Art Gallery, followed by Joan in 1954. Her work shares the gallery walls, though in a new Sister Bay location, with that of her daughter Roberta and many others. As summer travel to the county became common, fami­ lies began to build homes so they could return annually for the entire season.