Indiana University's University Collections at McCalla has opened "Capturing the Campus: T.C. Steele," a collaborative exhibition with the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites that brings together many paintings by Hoosier artist T.C. Steele for the first time in decades. Steele, who served as IU's first artist in residence from 1922 until his death in 1926, created impressionist works depicting campus scenes, portraits of university presidents and faculty, and landscapes that capture what the campus looked like a century ago. The exhibit, which opened April 17, features paintings sorted by geographic location on campus, alongside a historic map, letters, documentaries, and 3D renderings.
The exhibition matters because it reunites Steele's campus paintings from multiple institutional collections, offering a rare visual record of Indiana University's transformation over 100 years. By juxtaposing familiar landmarks like Dunn's Woods and the Old Crescent with vanished features such as open pastures and the old power plant, the show encourages viewers to slow down and truly see the art that surrounds them daily. It also highlights the role of university art collections in preserving institutional history and the legacy of regional artists who shaped American impressionism.