Apr 19, 2019
(April 13, 2019) It may seem remarkable that his abstract artwork often reflected harmony and balance, given the struggles he faced in establishing himself as a prominent artist.
Indianapolis
native Felrath
Hines, who became the first African-American
conservator of the Smithsonian
National Portrait Gallery, worked during
the Great
Depression in a segregated company of
the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC) based
in Bloomington. Before that, he graduated
from Attucks High
School in 1931; he was a member of the first
four-year class at Attucks, which was created in the late 1920s as
a separate high school for black students in Indianapolis. After
his stint as a laborer with the CCC, Hines worked as a dining car
waiter on railroad cars at night while attending
the Art Institute of
Chicago during the day.
Today, paintings by Hines (1913-1993) are exhibited at museums across the country, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. and the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. For several years, Hines worked with Georgia O'Keeffe as her private paintings restorer.
We explore the life and impact of Hines - as well as other artists - with two studio guests:
- Rachel Berenson Perry, author a new book, The Life and Art of Felrath Hines: From Dark to Light (IU Press and Indiana Historical Society Press). Rachel, who lives in Brown County, is the former fine arts curator for the Indiana State Museum. She has been a frequent guest on Hoosier History Live shows about other Indiana artists, including T.C. Steele and William Forsyth, the subjects of some of Rachel's other books.
- And Mark Ruschman, senior curator of art and culture at the Indiana State Museum, who put Rachel in touch with Hines' widow several years ago. In June, the State Museum will open an exhibit titled It's About Time: The Artwork of Felrath Hines.
As a 13-year-old boy, Hines
received scholarships to attend special Saturday classes at what
was then called the Herron Art
Institute. Despite segregation in Indianapolis schools
and public places, Herron had established an open door policy at
its inception in 1903 and did not discriminate on the basis of
race, according to Rachel's book. At Herron, young Hines studied
painting and drawing.
During his career, Hines fought against, as Rachel puts it, "being pigeonholed as a black artist" - even when turning down opportunities for his paintings to be included in exhibits of African American artwork hurt his career.
During our show, guest Mark Ruschman also discusses other notable painters, including two who attended Manual High School in Indianapolis during the early 1900s: William Edouard Scott (1884-1964) and John Wesley Hardrick (1891-1968). At Manual, both Scott and Hardrick studied under famous Hoosier Group painter Otto Stark.
Like Hines, Hardrick went on to attend Herron. Unlike Hines, whose career flourished after he focused on abstract art, Hardrick painted landscapes, still lifes and portraits. The Indiana State Museum and the Indianapolis Museum of Art own paintings by Hardrick, who lived in Indianapolis all of his life.
In contrast, Hines was based during the 1960s in New York City, where he befriended well-known jazz musicians like Billy Strayhorn. In 1972, Hines moved to the Washington D.C. area to become the conservator of the National Portrait Gallery.