Pictured is the Midwest Museum of American Art in Elkhart.

By Darla McCammon

Galleries, museums, and more interesting places literally surround us. Indiana has a fantastic surplus of excellent art museums you are free to visit and enjoy while the weather is not an impediment.

First is the Haan Mansion in Lafayette. This beautiful building was moved from the 1904 World’s Fair. It now houses art plus an American furniture collection and a sculpture garden. The story behind this mansion is enchanting. The $10 fee for adults and $5 for youth ages 5 to 17 is a bargain. The museum is also home to an impressive porcelain collection. The current exhibit is Hoosier Women Artists.

The permanent collection offers famous Indiana work including T.C. Steele, and historical work from the art colony that was in Brown County in early years. Hours are from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The sculpture garden is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.during the summer.

If you enjoy Norman Rockwell art, then you need to drive to Elkhart and visit the Midwest Museum of American Art. Their collection specializes in 19th and 20th century American artists. Located at 429 S. Main St., the 6,000 works in their permanent collection are housed in a wonderfully renovated bank building in the Neo-Classical style of architecture.

Covering almost all aspects of art pieces created by Americans, this museum proudly displays 19th century work, American impressionism, pottery, the Ash-Can school and Western art. The current exhibit features Ted Drake, the artist we have discussed in this column, who created the famous Notre Dame “Fighting Irish” mascot. The museum is open through July 31 this summer.

From Elkhart it is a short drive to South Bend where we will find two museums worth visiting. Small but nicely done is the South Bend Museum of Art. Located in the Century Center at the beautiful river rapids, drive to 120 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The museum is open from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Changing exhibits are in nice galleries and display a variety of both traditional and contemporary styles by invited national and regional artists.

A short distance away on the campus of Notre Dame and right across from the football field you will find The Snite Museum of Art. Holding around 23,000 artifacts, this five gallery museum offers sculptures, ancient pottery, modern paintings and even a temporary exhibit featuring Rembrandt etchings! A great deal of thought has gone into their selections of a good variety of art, including Italian Renaissance paintings and American painters such as Georgia O’Keeffe. Admission to the museum is free.

Lastly some will wonder why I have not mentioned this very impressive Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University. You will want to save your trip to this free museum for next year. They are currently closed for renovations to make it even bigger and better! Hope you enjoy some of these excursions that will give you a great deal of enjoyment. Next week we will offer up some more inexpensive yet educational and entertaining places to visit where art is king!

Upcoming and Current Events

• The Don Sheline exhibit at Warsaw City Hall Art Gallery is open now from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday until Aug. 3 Please go visit this free exhibit and appreciate his work.
• The June LAA exhibit “Small Wonders” is open from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at 302 E. Winona Ave.
• The July LAA exhibit for Timothy Tyree begins July 5. The same times, days and location for “Small Wonders” apply to this exhibit.

For more information on topics in this column, please contact Darla McCammon at [email protected] or (574) 527-4044. Older columns can be viewed at www.darlamc.com.