T.C. Steele Historic Trail

Supporting Indiana historic sites

Recreation of T.C. Steele’s Studio Wagon (installed 2018)

The Friends provide financial, in-kind, and volunteer support to Indiana historic sites. Key fundraising and financial support over the past few years have included: Restoration of Selma’s Gardens (2016), Indiana State Historical Marker (2017), Recreation of T.C. Steele’s Studio Wagon (installed 2018), Singing Winds Visitor Center (2019), purchase of two new golf carts for transport of visitors at historic site (2021), financial contribution for exterior painting of buildings on historic site (2021).

Connecting today’s artists

Annual member Art Show: 10^th Consecutive Year (introduced 2012); (L to R) Garrett Adams (president), 2022 Youth Category Winner Sarah Stonerock (student), and Lisa Sears (art teacher) in the classroom at Greenfield-Central High School.

The Friends annual member art show not only continues to grow in participants each year, but also in expanding entry categories. In 2022 a youth category was added, and in 2023 a professional category will be added to separate these painters from amateurs providing a better balance in awards and prizes. 

Curating the world’s largest archive of T.C. Steele paintings

Virtual Gallery (introduced 2020)

The Friends have established the largest online collection of professionally photographed images of Steele paintings, with provenance and stories behind the art when available. Many of these paintings reside in art museum storage, and private collections, making the virtual gallery a showcase for Steele paintings which were inaccessible to the public prior to the launch of the virtual gallery.

Sharing Steele’s legacy with new generations

Indiana Historical Society Grant for T.C. Steele Historic Trail App (launch 2023) underwritten by Lilly Endowment, (L to R): Jeannette Rooney, Assistant Director, Local History Services, Indiana Historical Society; David Steele, Board Member Emeritus, Friends of T.C. Steele; Tamara Hemmerlein, Director, Local History Services, Indiana Historical Society.

The Friends have launched the T.C. Steele Historical Trail App, which will provide digital access to the history and location of the sites where T.C. Steele lived and painted during his lifetime in Indiana.  This App is available on smartphones, tablets and desktops enabling digital connection for new generations on their smartphones, while continuing to provide digital access through traditional desktops and tablets.

Looking Ahead

Today, the Friends of T.C. Steele continues as a volunteer support group with a much broader mission of “preserving his art, his life, his legacy”. The recent expansion of the annual Member Art Show and the launch of The T.C. Steele Historic Trail are examples of the continuous evolution of this organization. Please join us a member!

The Friends of T.C. Steele is a tax exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Code.

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Special thanks

We would like to recognize the following organizations, sites and individuals who helped make the T.C. Steele Historic Trail a reality.