Purdue Galleries presents historical images by George Winter from TCHA

George Winter, “Logansport Indiana July 8th 1837,”watercolor and ink on paper, Collection of Tippecanoe County Historical Association. Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue Galleries on Tuesday (June 21) opened a new summer exhibit of objects from the collection of the Tippecanoe County Historical Association. “George Winter: Reflections on the Native Peoples of Early Indiana” will be presented through August 13 in Fountain Gallery in downtown Lafayette.

Winter was an important 19th century artist and Lafayette, Indiana resident who documented the cultures of the Miami and Potawatomi Indians in Indiana and their eventual forced relocation.

 In 1837, while living in Ohio, Winter learned of the impending removal of the Potawatomi from their home along the Wabash. He traveled to Logansport, Indiana, “for the purpose (before I should return East) of seeing and learning some thing of the Indians and exercising the pencil in that direction.”

Winter didn’t realize that his interactions with the Potawatomi and Miami of Indiana would become the defining characteristic of his artistic career. He would become one of Indiana’s first and most well-known artists.

George Winter interpreted Native Americans through the eyes of an artist. He persisted in building relationships in the interest of sketching their portrait. Even without formal training, Winter was able to sketch quickly and had a fine eye for detail, but as an artist, he was also interested in composition and balance. His prolific art and writings have become a valuable historical resource for scholars and artists alike.

An extensive collection of the works of George Winter was donated to the Tippecanoe County Historical Association in 1986 by Mrs. Cable G. Ball, the widow of Winter’s great grandson. This gift to the Lafayette community includes manuscripts, letters, drawings, and paintings of this important 19th century artist.

A 2 p.m. each Friday during the exhibition (June 24, July 1, 8 15, 22 and 29, and Aug. 5 and 12), staff or volunteers from the Tippecanoe County Historical Association will present free gallery talks related to the exhibition.

Additional Saturday programs will be presented on June 25, July 9, July 30 and August 6. More information available at http://www.purdue.edu/galleries or http://www.tippecanoehistory.org.

The Indiana Bicentennial Commission has awarded Legacy Project status to the “Pop! Goes Purdue” project, in celebration of 200 years of Indiana statehood.

On Friday (June 24) Purdue Galleries will host an opening reception in the Fountain Gallery from 5:30-7 pm.  

The Galleries will presents “Recent Acquisitions” through Aug. 12 in the Robert L. Ringel Gallery in Purdue’s Stewart Center.

“Recent Acquisitions” presents a selection of diverse objects obtained for the Permanent Collection in recent years. The Galleries collection is supported and grown through donations from individuals and exhibiting artists, and purchases funded by donations. The Florence Lonsford Endowment has provided in recent years for the acquisition of prints by international artists and contemporary works by rising new artists. Pieces in this exhibit range from prints, drawings, and paintings to Turkish rugs and small sculpture.

The Robert L. Ringel Gallery is located in Stewart Center on the main campus of Purdue. Summer hours for Ringel Gallery are noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment. 

The Fountain Gallery is located at 330 Main Street, Lafayette, in the historic Perrin Building. The gallery is open noon to 7 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays.

All Purdue Galleries exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.

For class and group visits, contact Craig Martin at Purdue Galleries at 765-494-3061. For more information, visit http://www.purdue.edu/galleries. 

Contact: Craig Martin, 765-494-3061, cdmartin@purdue.edu