John Ottis Adams:(1851-1927) American Impressionist

John Ottis Adams was one of the major figures in Indiana art. A contemporary of T.C. Steele, Adams also studied at the Royal Academy in Munich. Upon his return to Indiana he was a key member of the ‘Hoosier Group’ consisting of Steele, Otto Stark, William Forsyth, and R.B. Gruelle. Adams helped to establish the John Herron Art Institute in 1901 and was an instructor there until his retirement from teaching in 1904. Married to Winifred Brady Adams, herself an artist noted for still lifes.

John Ottis Adams (1851-1927) was a leading landscape painter originally from Amity, in Johnson County, Indiana. He was well taught in both America and Europe, and later received his Master of Arts honor from Wabash College. He became known as one of the five men from the Hoosier Group along with T.C.Steele, William Forsyth, Richard B. Gruelle, and Otto Stark. Along with Steele he shared a house with separate studios in the town of Brookville in Franklin County, Indiana called the Hermitage. He went on to establish an art school in Muncie where he married his pupil, Winifred Brady. Adams later became the first painting and drawing teacher at the new Herron School of Art. He painted in Florida with Forsyth later in his life but returned to Indianapolis in 1926. He died in 1927 and is buried in Muncie. I love the work of this very fine artist. i can across his work a few nights ago and HAD to put it in my blog. His skys are so transparent and full of life. If you study closely at his work, it’s obvious he was influenced by the French Impressionists. His handling of paint is exceptional to no end. American Impressionists are only NOW becoming clear to me how talented they were.