Celebrating Indiana Artist Barbara Rogers Houseworth (1925-2015)
Ripley Auctions is is excited to present a collection of original paintings, drawings, and a sculpture by Indiana artist Barbara Rogers Houseworth.
Featured in our Great Estates LIVE! Antique to Modern Art & Design Auction, this collection of artwork by Barbara has been directly consigned by Barbara's family. This comprehensive collection of works from the artist is the largest we have come across as a company to date, creating a unique opportunity to celebrate her life and own pieces of Indiana Art history.
Below is a biography of the artist provided by her family.
Barbara Rogers’ talent as an artist was noted early; when she was just a girl, she drew fashion paper dolls on the floor of her bedroom and later at school she was allowed time in an empty classroom to draw whatever she wanted. She studied Fine Art at Indiana University, graduating in 1946. She married on the day of her graduation. In the 1940s it was not easy for a woman in the Midwest to pursue a career as an artist; a woman’s most important role was considered to be in the home as wife and mother. Barbara hoped to be able to do both.
In the early years of her marriage, she did that to some extent; while her husband, John H. Houseworth (1918-2017), finished medical school in Indianapolis, she painted for six years in their small apartment and exhibited at the John Herron School of Art, selling many of her paintings. After the couple moved to Urbana, Illinois in 1954 (her husband joined Carle Clinic, now Carle Foundation Hospital), this outlet for her work closed. But Barbara used her artistic skills whenever she could and became active in the local community: president of the PTA, a Girl Scout leader and chairperson of the Medical Wives’ Auxiliary’s used book sale (an activity which eventually became a major focus of her life). She had a table in a corner of the kitchen where she set up her artistic tools; then an easel in the garage and after moving to a larger home in Urbana, she took over one end of a utility room and it became a place for her creativity. With the exception of a commission for literary maps for High School literature classics, she now painted mainly for herself, and no one not even her husband was aware of the quantity of work she produced while her two daughters were at school and which she stored in a trunk in the corner of her painting room.
Her entire oeuvre – from childhood drawings, doodles, sketches on various papers of all sorts in all medias, to large oil paintings on canvas or board – has been saved as Barbara never threw anything away! Examples of some of the main themes in her varied oeuvre have been selected for this exhibition out of thousands. There is an immense variety of subject matter and above all a variety of techniques in the oeuvre of BRH. Much like Picasso, she always achieved an image of interest. She may not always have known what it was or why she painted what she did, but the lines were alive and vibrant, the colors, usually subdued, were harmonious and deeply satisfying. The end result vibrating with energy with just a hint of something interesting something ‘in the coming’.
Early work in Indiana:
Barbara studied Fine Art at Indiana University during the war years, graduating in 1946. One of her professors, Steve Greene (1918-1999), was an influence on her work; Barbara said later that the sad-eyed faces she often painted were due to him. Another professor at IU, Harry Engel (1901-1970), thought that she had great potential and was disappointed when she opted for marriage (on the day of her graduation from IU) rather than “further training with a well-known male artist” as he recommended. She did her first charcoal drawings in Engel’s classes and they went sketching outdoors. She was encouraged to make abstract paintings. She had classes in painting, drawing and sculpture. After the second year the students were allowed to work from a nude model.
Barbara lived in Indianapolis for six years during the 1940s and 1950s while her husband completed his medical training. She was inspired by the cityscape around her and most especially by the children she encountered in the urban neighborhoods. She had a brief professional life doing floor displays for the department store L. S. Ayres in Indianapolis until she became pregnant. As long as she lived in Indianapolis, she exhibited at the annual exhibitions of the John Herron School of Art. She managed to paint in oils in their small, second floor apartment and transported her paintings while pushing a baby buggy.
Experimentation with materials and techniques in Urbana, Illinois:
Experimentation was the keyword for an artist in post war years and the only comment BRH would make about her work was that they were all “experiments.” Her studio space in her home in Urbana was FULL of oil and acrylic paints, pastels, inks, watercolors, gouache, encaustic paints, charcoal sticks, pencils, crayons, colored pencils – and any new material available.
Barbara would usually paint from her imagination, allowing the materials she painted with to lead her inspiration: creative energy flowed down through her fingertips and guided her brush: line, tone and color forming shapes and figures. She always doodled on a note pad while talking on the telephone, usually faces appeared. She sketched friends and did some self-portraits. There was almost always sadness in the doleful-eyed faces that appeared on her paper and they were usually of someone unknown.
Barbara’s creative demon was too powerful to allow her satisfaction in the routine duties required of a wife and mother in the Midwest of the 1950s. Although she was able to profit from the labor-saving household devices that were available post war, the role of housewife was obviously not sufficient. Her painting provided an outlet for her creative energy and gave meaning to her life of service to husband, family and community. The variety of her materials and techniques has been mentioned, but there is also great variety in her subject matter. Portraits and faces were a recurring theme in her work, however, as well as images of mother and child which obviously held great meaning for her.
The links below lead to articles about Barbara written by Ann Massing, one of the daughters of the artist. They include more information about the life of Barbara, feature prominent examples of her work, and give insight into the evolution of her creative process.
https://www.annmassing.com/barbara-rogers-houseworth
https://indianaillustrators.blogspot.com/2014/01/an-indiana-artist-barbara-rogers.html