This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  The following, submitted July 2002, is from material developed for Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana by Tom Davis:
In
the the early 1900s the Indianapolis School Board asked eighth grade
students to write essays on the topic "Why We Take Pride In
Indianapolis." Not too surprisingly, the name of James Whitcomb Riley
received the most mention. But Otto Stark, artist and teacher, was a
close second. Though mostly forgotten today, this speaks highly for the
influence he had on the culture of our town in the first decades of the
20th century and his ability to foster an appreciation of the arts even
in those who would not be artists.
He owes his place in art and
history to one of the family cows. Otto was planning on following in
the footsteps of his father and grandfather and become a cabinet maker,
hoping to specialize further in organ building. Like many other boys
growing up in Indianapolis in the 1860s, one of his daily chores was to
drive the cow to a common pasture area on the outskirts of the city in
the morning. Then after a day which might include school or swimming in
Fall Creek, he had to fetch the cow home each night. "She was a rather
obstreperous animal and in chasing her one time I sprained my ankle.
Then the doctor refused to let me keep on with my [cabinet making]
because it necessitated my standing at the bench. A lithographer came
to see my father about that time in regard to making a catalogue for
our factory and one evening around the family fireside, we all decided
that lithographing would be a good thing for me to take up. So in time,
[1875] I went to Cincinnati to take a course and while I was there, I
attended art school at night. Before long, I lost sight of [cabinet
making] altogether." (Otto Stark, quoted by Leland G. Howard, Otto
Stark 1859 -1926: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1977, p. 12)
After
several years of being apprenticed to a lithographer and studying in
the School of Design at the University of Cincinnati, Stark moved to
New York in 1879, finding work as a lithographer, designer, and
illustrator while continuing his studies and exhibiting his works. But
his goal was beyond even New York, and after six years of saving and
soaking in what it had to offer, he left for Paris to study at the
Acadamie Julian.
Stark met with success in Paris. First he
gained the acceptance of his mostly French classmates with his spirited
renditions of Indian war-dances, earning him the nickname "Le Peau
Rouge" (Redskin). In May 1886, one of his works was selected from among
thousands to be exhibited at the annual Paris Salon. He took this as
official confirmation of his talent as an artist. And on December 15,
1886, he married Marie Nitschelm, a Paris girl he had met while
boarding at the home of French novelist Anatole France, during one of
her many visits to see her friend Suzanne, the author's daughter. In
1887, one of his works was again selected for the Paris Salon, and the
young couple's first daughter, Gretchen Leone, was born.
In
1888, the Starks moved to New York City. Otto had four paintings hung
in the National Academy of Design Show, and took a job as a commercial
artist, supplementing his meager income with magazine illustrations,
including at least one work for the popular "Harper's Weekly. " A
second daughter, Suzanne Marie, was born, and the family moved to
Philadelphia where he took a commercial art position in a publishing
house. Two sons, Paul Gustave and Edward Otto were born there, the last
leaving Marie so weak that she was taken to a New York City hospital,
dying on November 11, 1891.
Faced with raising four young
children alone on meager wages, Otto decided to return to Indianapolis,
where he would at least have the support of family. His father, not
long a widower himself, took care of the three oldest children while
his sister Augusta cared for infant Edward.
By January 1892,
Otto had returned to lithography work in Cincinnati. In the spring of
that year, Otto wrote to his father that he dedicated his life to
Christ, a decision which filled his father, a deeply religious man,
with joy. The solace of work, which came to include giving art lessons,
coupled with his faith, slowly renewed Otto's spirit, and in late 1893,
he returned to Indianapolis to set up a household with his widowed
sister Amalie, and their unmarried sister Lydia. To provide for his
extended family, he opened a studio on East Market Street and began
teaching art classes.
Such was his life when fourteen of his
oil paintings and nine watercolors were included in the Denison Hotel
exhibit along with works by T.C. Steele, William Forsyth, and Richard
Gruelle, and then in Chicago. For the next several years, he was kept
very busy contributing works for exhibitions and a well-received
article on Impressionism for Modern Art. He became one of the members
of the Society of Western Artists and the Art Association of
Indianapolis. But even this level of success was not enough to allow
him to live solely by his painting when he had four children and two
sisters to provide for.
So in 1899, he accepted the position
of Supervisor of Art at Manual Training High School and began the
formal teaching career by which his influence in the city's cultural
life was most strongly felt. In 1902, he added teaching classes at the
new Herron Art School to his resume, becoming a permanent faculty
member in 1905. Another locally famous artist, Elmer Taflinger, also
buried at Crown Hill, recalled his days as one of Stark's students at
Manual: "Most people don't realize what Otto Stark did for the art
world of Indianapolis. He is the man who inspired us all to go to New
York, to do something. He was a high school teacher, but he kept
abreast of New York, Chicago, Paris. One thing a lot of people don't
realize is that Otto Stark had an independent reputation on the East
Coast. He won his spurs in Paris, New York, Philadelphia. Then, because
his wife died, he decided to raise his four children in a healthier
atmosphere. He was a human being above all else. Of all those who could
put a picture together, Otto Stark was the best composer. We used to
get together in New York, some of us who had studied with Stark and
congratulate ourselves on the fact that we were so much better prepared
than people from all over the world. We were amazed at the things they
didn't know that we thought everybody knew."
Recalling Stark's
physical appearance, Taflinger adds,"He was thegodawfulest looking man
. . . He had a shuffling, indeterminate gait, every part of his body
was at war with another part. He had a real artist's thumb, the size of
a spatula, and knobby hands. But he had a firmness and a kindness in
his eyes. He fed us with letters, posters, messages from those who had
left. He fired our ambition." (Judith Vale Newton, 44)
After
living for several years in Southport in a large home with a spacious
yard, he moved his family to 1722 North Delaware in 1910 when the
tranquility of country life became constantly interrupted by the noise
of a nearby railroad. Building a large studio in the backyard, he
continued his teaching at Manual and Herron, both now within walking
distance. (This house was on the market in 1999 for $120,000. The
studio had been turned into a Carriage House with rental
possibilities.) His daughters continued to live with him, Gretchen
teaching French while Suzanne studied to be a sculptor. He also
continued to paint and exhibit, some of his works being included in the
1910 International Exhibition held in South America.
His
contribution to the 1914 project at Indianapolis City Hospital was
entitled "Toy Parade." It was a continuous frieze around the walls of
the kindergarten room capturing a youngsters surprise and joy as his
toys come to life and start a circus-like parade. In the words of art
historian Mary Burnet "it is almost worth a child's being ill to have
one glimpse of such fun; and, once being ill, what child could resist
the vigorous vitality of this mural by refusing to grow daily stronger
in an altogether admirable manner?" Several other murals were done for
schools around this time, including two for the auditorium of the new
Shortridge High School. A full length portrait of George Rogers Clark
was commissioned by the state to hang in the State House.
By
1919, he felt successful and independent enough to resign all of his
teaching positions and devote himself full time to painting. Only
Gretchen was still living at home, and she had a living of her own. He
spent much time with fellow painter J. Ottis Adams, both at his Leland
cottage on Lake Michigan and in Florida, traveling at least once to
California and Massachusetts as well. These were great times for Stark.
Set free from the pressures of making a living, the spontaneous,
playful nature of "Le Peau Rouge" returned, much to the delight of his
grandchildren and their friends. Former students honored him with a
reception and exhibition at Manual High School in 1925; twenty nine of
his former students who were making their living by their art
contributing letters, tributes and samples of their works.
A
year later, in April 1926, Stark suffered a stroke while visiting his
daughter Suzanne. He held on for several more days before dying on
April 14th. His fellow artists in the Portfolio Club paid this tribute:
"The
Portfolio mourns the death of Otto Stark, one of its earliest members,
he was also one of its most beloved. Quiet and retiring, yet genial and
friendly, he was a man of profound religious feeling, serious and
thoughtful, but always ready to enter into any merriment afoot, often
to a rollicking degree. He combined in a very happy way qualities that
made him a delightful friend and companion. . . . As a painter, Otto
Stark had high ideals and he approached them in artistic work of
enduring charm and worth and was himself generously appreciative of the
high accomplishment of fellow artists. For many years a teacher, he was
an inspiring influence to a large number of students in whom he
inculcated a genuine love of beauty and discriminating
appreciation---an influence that persists and broadens with the years.
His artistic accomplishment was valuable and his personality was
lovable. As artist and as friend, we pay reverent and affectionate
tribute to his memory." (Leland Howard, 33)
If he had been able
to follow his own advice to many of his students, and had remained in
New York or Paris to pursue his artistic vision, some speculate that he
had what it took to have become a much better and probably more famous
artist. But he chose the only route he felt he could choose, coming
back to Indianapolis for the sake of his children, and that made him a
better human being, one whom even his fellow artists remembered as much
for his friendship and inspiration as his art.
copyright 2000 by Tom Davis
| |
Biography from William A. Karges Fine Art - Beverly Hills:
| Otto Stark was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1859. Apprenticed to a
lithographer, Stark studied at the University of Cincinnati School of
Design before moving to New York to work as an illustrator.
Further study followed in Paris at the Academie Julian. Stark met with
success in Paris, exhibiting twice at the prestigious Salon.
Returning to the U.S. with his French wife and daughter, the Starks
settled in first in New York, then Philadelphia, where Otto painted and
sold illustrations to eastern Publications. When his wife died
following the birth of their fourth child, Stark returned
to
Indiana, where he exhibited with T.C. Steele, Richard Gruelle, and
William Forsyth during the 1890’s. Needing a steady income for
his family, Stark took a number of teaching positions in Indianapolis
until he could finally devote himself to painting full-time in 1919.
With his children grown, Stark spent a good deal of his time painting
with his friend J. Ottis Adams until he suffered a stroke from which he
would not recover in 1926. |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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Otto Stark is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
Impressionists Pre 1940
San Francisco Panama-Pacific Exhibition 1915
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