Barry Gealt's nature paintings, with their thick layers of pigment and saturated colors, evoke the drama of place―purple waves splashing over shell-pink sands, mossy rocks protruding among twisting water surfaces, the windless mists of Indiana mornings, and the hush and rustle of winter woods. This beautiful retrospective catalog presents forty of Gealt's works, mostly large oil-on-panel paintings, from 1985 through 2012. Rachel Berenson Perry traces Gealt's art-making life from his early experiments with figurative painting through the evolution of his abstract, forceful, almost sculptural landscape style. Perry also discusses Gealt's long career as a dedicated teacher and mentor to his many students in the painting program at Indiana University from 1969 until his retirement in 2007.

Barry Gealt, Embracing Nature: Landscape Paintings, 1988-2012

Arts & Photography

Perry, Rachel Berenson

History & Criticism

Indiana University Press

Closely associated with artists such as T. C. Steele and J. Ottis Adams, William J. Forsyth studied at the Royal Academy in Munich then returned home to paint what he knew best―the Indiana landscape. It proved a rewarding subject. His paintings were exhibited nationally and received major awards. With full-color reproductions of Forsyth’s most important paintings and previously unpublished photographs of the artist and his work, this book showcases Forsyth’s fearless experiments with artistic styles and subjects. Drawing on his personal letters and other sources, Rachel Berenson Perry discusses Forsyth and his art and offers fascinating insights into his personality, his relationships with his students, and his lifelong devotion to teaching and educating the public about the importance of art.

William J. Forsyth: The Life and Work of an Indiana Artist

Humor & Entertainment

With its beautiful meadows and countless meandering streams, picturesque Parke County, Indiana, is home to 31 historic covered bridges, ranging from 43 to 315 feet long. Every October, the county hosts the Covered Bridge Festival, which draws more than two million people nationwide to the courthouse lawn in Rockville. From there, tourists set off to visit the bridges and to seek out the arts and crafts fairs located in each of the festival’s nine communities. Photographer Marsha Williamson Mohr has spent years in the area, capturing spellbinding images of the bridges and nearby farms and the natural beauty of the area, season by season. The warmth and vitality of Parke County brings her back time and time again, and this gorgeous photographic collection will call you back as well.

Parke County: Indiana's Covered Bridge Capital

Moore, Gary

Mohr, Marsha Williamson

Photography & Video

Quarry Books

Felrath Hines (1913–1993), the first African American man to become a professional conservator for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, was born and raised in the segregated Midwest. Leaving their home in the South, Hines's parents migrated to Indianapolis with hopes for a better life. While growing up, Hines was encouraged by his seamstress mother to pursue his early passion for art by taking Saturday classes at Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis. He moved to Chicago in 1937, where he attended the Art Institute of Chicago in pursuit of his dreams. The Life and Art of Felrath Hines: From Dark to Light chronicles the life of this exceptional artist who overcame numerous obstacles throughout his career and refused to be pigeonholed because of his race. Author Rachel Berenson Perry tracks Hines's determination and success as a contemporary artist on his own terms. She explores Hines's life in New York City in the 1950s and 60s, where he created a close friendship with jazz musician Billy Strayhorn and participated in the African American Spiral Group of New York and the equal rights movement. Hines's relationship with Georgia O'Keeffe, as her private paintings restorer, and a lifetime of creating increasingly esteemed Modernist artwork, all tell the story of one man's remarkable journey in 20th-century America.
 Featuring exquisite color photographs, The Life and Art of Felrath Hines explores the artist's life, work, and significance as an artist and as an art conservator.

The Life and Art of Felrath Hines: From Dark to Light

This book chronicles the Society of Western Artists from its inception in 1896 to its last sponsored exhibit in 1914. Comprised of the top artists from Indianapolis, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, the annual traveling exhibition enhanced the stature of the work of Western artists through exposure to a wider public and by garnering reviews in the nation's art periodicals. A founding and active member of the society, Hoosier Group artist T. C. Steele executed some of his best landscape works during the years the society was active. Rachel Berenson Perry examines Steele's thoughts on plein air painting, his role as a catalyst for the development of regional Midwest impressionism and the Brown County Art Colony, his painting techniques, and his unwavering devotion to nature. The volume features 60 color reproductions of artworks by the society's major artists, complete annual catalog listings, and original exhibition reviews.

T. C. Steele and the Society of Western Artists, 1896–1914