T.C. Steele History
The T.C. Steele State Historic Site includes the last home and studio of Indiana artist Theodore Clement Steele (1847-1926) and his second wife Selma Neubacher Steele (1870-1945). Steele, a member of the noted "Hoosier Group" of American Impressionist painters, was attracted to Brown County by the scenery he encountered while hiking in the area. The site's 211 acres of wooded hills and ravines inspired the artist to paint some of his most famous works. As Indiana's premier portraitist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Steele also painted many of Indiana's "rich and famous." These industrialists, philanthropists, educators, and political figures are the people whose stories fill our history books.
Steele purchased the land that now comprises the T.C. Steele State Historic Site in early 1907. That spring, he built a home and brought a wife to what became known as the "House of the Singing Winds." Artists from around the country came to visit and to paint with Steele, finding for themselves the area's spectacular beauty. Many stayed and settled to form the famous Brown County Art Colony. The House of the Singing Winds was doubled in size in 1908, and eventually two studio buildings were constructed along with a garage, guest cottages, and other outbuildings. At least two remote painting shacks were built to accommodate Steele's practice of painting outdoors.
The Steeles undertook an ambitious landscaping plan which transformed their hilltop acreage into elaborate gardens and orchards. They planted hundreds of trees and blazed hiking trails through the nearby woods.
T.C. Steele died at the House of the Singing Winds in 1926, and his widow kept the property open to the public until her death in 1945. Shortly before her death, Selma Steele donated the property, buildings, and many artifacts, including over 350 T.C. Steele paintings, to the state of Indiana. Her wishes were that the site would become a place of education as well as a source of enjoyment for future generations.
The site has been administered by the Indiana Department of Conservation, now the Department of Natural Resources, since 1945. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and received accreditation from the American Association of Museums in 1988. The 92-acre Selma N. Steele State Nature Preserve, which boasts several rare and endangered plant species, was dedicated in 1990.