Caroline Marmon Fesler: A Collector's Exhibition

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Evans Woollen, architect
0:00:03
Read the history of Woollen Molzan and Partners, an architecture firm on Monument Circle in Indianapolis.

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18th Century Furniture
0:00:09
Check out this book for an overview of 18th century furniture.

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0:00:34
View images of the city of Indianapolis on Flickr.

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Go behind the scenes of the Indianapolis Museum of Art with Indianapolis Woman Magazine, with an interview with Ellen Lee about her career.

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Smith College
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Their mascot is a pioneer!

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The Valkhof at Nijmegen by Aelbert Cuyp
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See medieval fortifications bathed in golden light at IMA.

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The Water Mill by Meindert Hobbema
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Would you like to escape the complexities of city life? This painting is also known as the Trevor Landscape.

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Landscape with Cascade by Jacob van Ruisdael
0:01:25
This painitng, influenced by a Scandinavian landscape, was one of the paintings gifted to the IMA by Caroline Marmon Fesler.

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Docents
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At the IMA, Docents study art, lead tours for the public and assist with school groups. Check out this link for more information about docents.

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IMA History
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Educate yourself on the history of the Indianapolis Museum of Art by reading, "The Herron Chronicle" by Harriet G. Warkel.

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Landscape at Saint-Remy by Vincent Van Gogh
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Van Gogh painted this work while recuperating in Southern France from a nervous breakdown.

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IMA's European Galleries
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With a collection spanning from the Classical Period to 1945, the IMA's European Galleries are accessible online.

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Indiana in the '40s
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Browse a listing of popular news items from Indiana in the 1940s.

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Ma Jolie by Pablo Picasso
0:02:06
This cubist masterpiece hung in Fesler's living room before becoming part of the IMA's permanent collection.

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Flight into Egypt by Marc Chagall
0:02:10
Check the IMA's website to see if this work by well-known Russian artist, Marc Chagall, is on view.

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The Mysterious Departure by Giorgio de Chirico
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Di Chirico's haunting paintings often deal with the unconscious or dreamstate.

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What is a Connoisseur?
0:02:22
Caroline Marmon Fesler was a connoisseur of both art and music.

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Booth Tarkington
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Read more about Booth Tarkington, an award-winning Hoosier author.

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Booth Tarkington Manuscript Collection
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Check out the digital manuscript collection at the Indiana Historical Society.

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Still Life with Pink Fish by George Braque
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George Braque and Pablo Picasso developed the Cubist style.

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Still Life with a Chinese Porcelain Jar by Willem Kalf
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The Channel of Gravelines, Petit Fort Philippe by George Seurat
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This painting resides in the IMA's Neo-Impressionist gallery, among other pointillist works.

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Caroline Marmon Fesler
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View a bronze portrait of Caroline Marmon Fesler by David K. Rubins.

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Read more about the well-known deaf composer.

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Channels: Aelbert CuypCaroline FeslerDavid K. RubinsEuropean ArtExhibitionsGeorges BraqueGeorges SeuratGiorgio de ChiricoJacob van RuisdaelMarc ChagallMeindert HobbemaPablo PicassoVincent van GoghWillem Kalf

A short documentary on the role art collector Caroline Fesler played in the building of the Indianapolis Museum of Art's collection in the 1930's and 40's. This IMA produced film shows how an exemplary eye for art and a strong will can create lasting legacy.

Thank goodness for private collectors who support the arts and contribute to art museums! The world is a richer place and art is more accessible to everyone because of them.

janblencowe@gmail.com's picture
Submitted by JanBlencowe on Tue, 04/07/2009 - 14:22.

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00:00:02 I do believe she loved music just as much as she loved art. We sat on 18th century furniture

00:00:11 listening to superb sound while looking at the great paintings of her collection.

00:00:33 I think Indianapolis should be very proud to be able to claim Caroline Marmon Fesler. She was born in 1878. Her family had long roots in the area.

00:00:46 She graduated from Smith College in 1900 and then immersed herself in the arts of Paris. In fact, she writes

00:00:56 back to her family in 1904, "I'd like to have two lives and work one out with painting and one with music, but that I can't have for the asking,"

00:01:07 and it's certainly to the benefit of Indianapolis that Caroline Fesler was so committed to those two arts.

00:01:14 [Music]

00:01:28 I always felt close to the museum, the old Art Museum, that is, the one downtown on 16th street,

00:01:37 so I got the idea that the museum was a great place to go to and oh, it didn't take long to realize that Mrs. Fesler was a part of that.

00:01:47 These pictures play important roles in exhibitions all over the world, and they enable us to build around them.

00:01:56 So, she really, in the forties, was building the bones of a great collection and that framework is still very much intact today.

00:02:04 [Music]

00:02:18 I think one of the things that is so fascinating about Mrs. Fesler as a connoisseur is that she had such a keen eye

00:02:27 and her taste has stood the test of time.

00:02:31 She was a close friend of Booth Tarkington, a Hoosier author, one of our best known and when Aunt Caroline bought Contemporary Art,

00:02:42 Booth Tarkington didn't like Contemporary Art. He only wanted old masters and there were two Braque's and one of them she was going to present

00:02:53 and did to the Fine Arts Acceptance Committee and Booth Tarkington sent her this note, "I would not eat a cock-eyed fish, I wouldn't even try one,

00:03:08 but a cock-eyed fish on a purple dish, I'd rather eat than buy one." She bought it and it's here.

00:03:17 [Music]

00:03:32 I felt lucky that Mrs. Fesler did live into her eighties because that made time for her to take in Anne and my generation and sort of guide us on our way.

00:03:43 I felt on a par with her, we thought alike, we didn't need to talk, we knew what we thought, it was a remarkable friendship.

00:03:54 She was always, I think, the first lady of the arts in our town, how fortunate we were to have her.