The Belleville Historical Society will host the city’s first annual Plein Air Art Auction on Saturday, Sept. 15. The public is invited to watch artists painting some of Belleville’s favorite historic sites. Events also include a street fair and art auction.
Paint Historic Belleville
The first annual “Paint Historic Belleville” Plein Air Art Auction will feature twelve local artists painting at—and creating original paintings of—some of Belleville’s most beloved historic sites. Artists will work at sites throughout Belleville from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, September 15th, and the public is encouraged to visit the sites and watch the artists as they paint en plein air, French for “in the open air.”
Paintings will be donated to the Belleville Historical Society for an auction starting at 1 p.m. at the Garfield Street Historic Saloon, with all proceeds going to the Belleville Historical Society to sustain preservation activities.
The event will also include a family-friendly street fair at Garfield’s, with food, crafts and live music.
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Event Details
Saturday, September 15, 2012 | 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. 12 local artists will paint outdoors at selected historic locations throughout Belleville; see map below
- 10 a .m. – 2 p.m. Street fair at Garfield Street Historic Saloon (633 E. Garfield St.), with live music by John Farrar starting at 11 a.m. on the Garfield’s patio
- 1 p.m. Paintings will be auctioned to the public at Garfield’s
Food and beverages will be available for sale by the Belleville Historical Society. For more information, please email bellevillehistoricalsociety@gmail.com.
Painting sites
- Charles E. King-designed Residence – High Forest Drive
Artist: Jeff Hursey - Skyview Drive-In Theater
Artist: Michael Anderson - Weilmuenster Law Group
Artist: Nancy Friederich - Lindenwood University Auditorium
Artist: Rob Thornberry - Belleville City Hall
Artist: Gary Karasek - Old Hotel Belleville / Meredith Home
Artist: Cari Casper-Bassler
- Carnegie Library / Belleville Public Library
Artist: Carolyn Karasek-Needles - Lincoln Theatre
Artist: Marilynne Bradley - Old U.S. Post Office / School District 118
Artist: Shawn Cornell - Nelson Law Firm
Artist: Joyce Neutzling - Charles E. King-designed Residence – McClintock Ave
Artist: David Cornell - Garfield Streetscape
Artist: Susan Rogers
1) Charles E. King-designed Residence – High Forest Drive
Architect Charles E. King | Skinner Home
25 High Forest Drive Belleville, IL 62226
Artist Information: Jeff Hursey
Jeff Hursey enjoys working primarily in medium or mixed media with painting, photography, and drawing. A 2009 graduate of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Hursey worked briefly as an art
instructor and is now employed with a professional art handling company. Even though he maintains his day job, the artist acknowledges devoting a great amount of energy towards creating his own art.
Many of Hursey’s ideas originated while in Ireland in the summer of 2008 studying photography. Throughout the trip, he noticed things he would normally have overlooked. His epiphany proved to be a valuable lesson in that he recognized that if one slows down and stops worrying about the next step; only then can he fully appreciate that particular experience that he will never come upon again. This concept has dramatically made him more aware of the world around him and has positively affected his own artistic talent.
Hursey’s imagery is heavily influenced by artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Bradford, Gerhard Richter and William Kentridge. He continues to explore many art forms but works mostly two dimensionally in painting, drawing, photography and collage.
2) Skyview Drive-In Theater
5700 North Belt West Belleville IL, 62226
The Skyview Drive-in Theater opened at 5700 North Belt West on July 8, 1949. By 1953, side wings needed to be added to the screen to accommodate “Cinemascope.”
In 1955, a tornado destroyed the screen and playground. Both were rebuilt. In 1981, a windstorm badly damaged the screen and playground again. Both were rebuilt again and a second screen was added in 1982.
The Skyview is the sole remaining drive-in theater in the St. Louis area.
Artist Information: Michael Anderson
For over 35 years, Michael Anderson has been an artist, illustrator, and designer. His education includes a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with Honors from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, IL in 1973. Anderson is a member of several organization including the American Society of Architectural Illustrators, St. Louis Artists Guild (Creative Artisans Section), Missouri Plein Air Painters Association, and the Gateway East Artist Guild. He currently is an illustrator, designer an fine artist at the Michael Anderson Studio located in Belleville.
In January of 2012, Anderson completed two new works that were commissioned by the Laclede Gas Company for the new Yaeger Conference Center at the corporate headquarters in St. Louis, MO. He based his paintings on black and white photos retrieved from the company’s archives.
The artist’s paintings, drawings and watercolors are included in many private collections as well as the permanent collections of Southwestern Illinois College Foundation, Laclede Gas and the City of
Belleville. His awards include the Kirchner Memorial Award for Transparent Watercolor (Gateway East Artists Guild), and the 2008 Big Splash Juror’s Choice (St. Louis Watercolor Society). Anderson is also the author of the blog Sketching St. Louis.
3) Weilmuenster Law Group
3201 W Main Street Belleville, IL 62226
In 1928 Arthur Jones, the president of the U.S. Smelting Furnace Company, commissioned Otto Rubach to design his new Prairie-style home at 3201 West Main Street. Jones lived in the house from 1929 until 1962 when it was purchased by Rubach and Lyman Weisenstein to serve as their architectural offices.
Later it became the home of the WHGK (Weisenstein, Eugene Hausmann, Robert Ganschinietz, and David Klinsel) Architectural Firm, who occupied the building until 1997. The present owner, the Weilmuenster Law Group, has occupied the building since 2002.
Artist Information: Nancy Friederich
Since 2004 Nancy Friederich has served as an Adjunct Professor Art at Southwester Illinois College. She also has created a home studio where she teaches group and individual classes in watercolor, oil painting, drawing, mixed media and photography. The multi-talented artist also enjoyed the opportunity of spending two weeks in Tuscany, Italy, to exercise her talent of plein air painting.
Friederich’s education includes a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 1996. In addition, she was awarded a Masters of Arts degree in Painting from Fontbonne University in St. Louis in 2002, and from the same University received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting in 2004.
Art on the Square and the Midwest Salute to the Arts are among the many art shows in which her art has been exhibited. The Gateway East Artist Guild has also recognized her talent by frequently awarding
prizes to her works in watercolor, oil, and photography.
4) Lindenwood University Auditorium
2600 West Main Street Belleville IL, 62226
Artist Information: Rob Thornberry
Rob Thornberry describes himself primarily as an abstract non-objective painter using acrylic paint, acrylic mediums, and found papers as his pallet. He also is an active drawer of the human form using graphite, charcoal, and watercolor and is a member of the Kreplin Group in downtown St. Louis, MO.
Thornberry received a Bachelor in Fine Art-Studio Art from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 1999, and he is currently an art teacher on the Belleville West High School campus.
Recognized frequently for his artwork, Thornberry is an active exhibiting artist with Art St. Louis. In June of 2005 he was chosen for Forum Junger Kunstler in Heuhauser Schlosspark. His exhibit was entitled Rob Thornberry: Zeitgenossische Kunst aus Belleville. He was Belleville’s young artist representative in Paderborn, Germany, where he exhibited 27 of his paintings.
For the past three summers, he has participated in the St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum’s “City Wide Open Studios Tour” in St. Louis as a studio stop on the tour. Thornberry’s work based on human form was exhibited with the Kreplin Group at the Schmidt Art Center located on the campus of Southwestern Illinois University.
5) Belleville City Hall
Architect Charles E. King | Belleville City Hall
102 South Illinois Street Belleville, IL 62220
The Belleville City Hall at 102 South Illinois Street was designed in 1957 by Architect Charles E. King and built in 1957-59. It was built on the site of the old City Hall that had been built in 1891.
Artist Information: Gary Karasek
The brother of artist Carolyn Karasek and son of the late well-known artist Edward Karasek, Gary Karasek has been surrounded by art his entire life. With a passion for design, the artist earned a Masters Degree from the University of Illinois in Architecture. It was his love of art on a large scale and his experimentation with a wide variety of art media ranging from drawing, painting, sculpture and theater sets that created the path to his degree in architecture. Karasek continues to this day to integrate the arts with everything he touches. These artistic skills allow him to focus on the creative, the imaginative and the fun of architecture.
The artist has recently been involved with several theme park projects that creates an outlet for his creative background. Locally Karasek works in residential and commercial projects in which he integrates his imaginative and creative talents. He is also a principal with U-Studios, Inc.
6) Old Hotel Belleville / Meredith Home
16 S Illinois Street Belleville, IL 62220
In the 1920’s, Belleville civic leaders identified the need for a modern hotel in their city to draw businessmen and conventions to town. The Belleville Chamber of Commerce spearheaded the construction of the Hotel Belleville to meet this need.
During the early years of the Great Depression local leaders raised tens of thousands of dollars for a down payment to finance the $400,000 facility. The Art Deco-styled hotel opened in 1931 on the previous site of the Belleville House Hotel.
In 1962 the Belleville Diocese of the Catholic Church converted the hotel into a retirement facility called the Meredith Home and owned it until 2010, when it was purchased by the city of Belleville. In 2011 a resident paid off the city’s mortgage with the understanding that the building would be demolished and replaced by a park or plaza to honor the memory of his daughter.
Artist: Cari Casper-Bassler
Presently a member of the Art Department at Belleville West High School, Cari Casper is a Graphic Design and Photography teacher. She believes that it is imperative for her to continue working and thinking. Since the artist’s mind is never at rest, always thinking of things to do, create or improve; she finds it beneficial to surround herself with creative students who provide her with daily artistic challenges.
Casper’s academic history includes a Bachelor of Science in Art Education degree Cum Laude from Southern Illinois in 2000 and a Master of Art in Studio from Fontbonne University in St. Louis in 2011. Currently she is attending Fontbonne in the evenings in order to complete her Master of Fine Arts Degree in Studio.
She has participated in many exhibitions including The Schmidt Art Exhibition, Fontbonne Graduate Exhibition where she received Second Place for Best of Show, and the Belleville West Fine Arts Festival. She is also owner and operator of Casper-Bassler Photography.
7) Carnegie Library / Belleville Public Library
121 E Washington Street Belleville, IL 62220
The Belleville Public Library (Carnegie Library) traces its origins to the highly-educated German immigrants—the so-called “Latin Farmers”—who settled in the Shiloh Valley and established a subscription library in the farmhouse of one of the founders in 1836. The library eventually came to Belleville and in 1916 moved into its present site.
The architect was Otto Rubach, a Belleville native who designed the building in the Beaux Arts Style, which was the preferred style of the Carnegie Corporation. Rubach designed many landmarks throughout Belleville, including most of the public schools built between 1915 and 1930.
Artist Information: Carolyn Karasek-Needles
The daughter of the late prominent Belleville artist Edward Karasek, Carolyn Karasek-Needles has found art to be a source of joy since childhood. After a career in nursing, she returned to the campus of
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and Communication in textiles. Wanting to hone her drawing and painting skills, in 2002 she again returned
to school and received a Masters of Arts in illustration from Syracuse University in New York. Finally in 2009, Karasek completed her studies at the University of Hartford earning a Masters of Fine Arts in
Illustration that allowed her to pursue her passion of allowing art to tell stories. For the artist art is an extension of language, expression without words, and parts put together to make a whole. It is the
people and the animals she paints who speak to the viewer through their painted eyes and the position or action of the painted body. For Karasek, art is alive.
In the late nineties she created her own greeting card company, “Prairie Earth.” The 32 card design series was entitled “A Moment in Time” that led to several licensing agreements. Freelance artwork and commissions have been an integral part of her life.
8) Lincoln Theatre
102 East Main Street Belleville IL, 62220
The Lincoln Theater at 102 East Main Street opened on October 6, 1921, on the former site of the Mansion House Hotel. The opening night bill included four acts of vaudeville and a silent movie, The Old Nest. The original admission was 35 cents for the main floor and 27 cents to sit in the balcony.
In the late 1920’s, Ginger Rogers and an act called the Three Nightingales (later to be the Marx Brothers) performed at the theater. On Thursday nights, local amateurs could perform.
In 1927, a Wurlitzer organ was purchased for $30,000 and installed to replace the orchestra. The last silent movie was shown on August 2, 1929.
The theater was restored by Richard Wright from 1980 until 2000. In October of 1996, a completely rebuilt and restored organ was dedicated. The theater is currently owned by Sandy and Dave Schoenborn, the daughter and son-in-law of Richard Wright.
Artist Information: Marilynne Bradley
Marilynne Bradley’s paintings of St. Louis landmarks, restaurants and neighborhood establishments are familiar sights at local art fairs. The artist received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Webster University in Webster Groves, MO, where she is currently serving as a faculty member. Bradley’s curiosity of the world is evident in her watercolor paintings. Each scene comes to life in a burst of excitement and drama. Design and vibrant colors dominate her works and reflect the many moods created by the relationship between glowing light and dark patterns.
Bradley was selected for inclusion in the Best of American Watercolor Artists Volume III in January of this year. The artist’s works are annually featured in solo exhibits at the Componere Gallery in St. Louis.
She is a member of the St. Louis Artist Guild and her watercolors have been exhibited in numerous exhibitions including the Watercolor Society of Houston, the St. Louis Watercolor Society, and the Missouri Watercolor Society. She was awarded the Goetsch Prize and the Art Mart Award in two of the St. Louis Artists Guild Exhibits.
9) Old U.S. Post Office / School District 118
105 West A Street Belleville, IL 62220
In the early 20th century it was a matter of civic prestige for a city to have a federal building. Belleville boosters lobbied successfully for construction of a government building, and the city’s Post Office opened in 1911.
The Beaux Arts style building remained the city’s main post office until a new building on West Washington Street replaced it in 1965. Plans for the old post office foundered and the building lay vacant until building contractors Willard and John Conrath saw its value, preserved its exterior, and renovated its interior.
In 1970 it was purchased by School District 118 to serve as its central office.
Artist Information: Shawn Cornell
Shawn Cornell is a 1985 and 1987 graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and an Associate of Arts degree in Graphic Design. He has been a practitioner of plein air painting since 1999 and was a founding member of the Missouri Plein Air Painters Association. Cornell is also a member of the Gateway East Artists Guild. Exhibiting frequently in Art on the Square, he has twice been the recipient of the Mayor’s Choice Award (2003, 2009) and also has received the Best in Category award. In addition, the artist has exhibited his work in multiple art fairs garnering many awards including Best in Show at the 2009 Highland Art in the Park show.
For Cornell, plein air painting is about the interaction of the artist and his surroundings during a brief moment in life. It is the artist exposing himself to the elements and public scrutiny. For him no other mode of painting provides a more direction connection between artist, subject and the public. According to Cornell, “If you see snow in a painting, it means that the artist was standing in the snow. If you see rain in the painting, it means the artist was getting very wet.” This simple and direct interpretation of a scene reflects his philosophy regarding his painting.
10) Nelson Law Firm
420 N High Street Belleville, IL 62220
The house on North High Street that currently is the offices of the Nelson and Nelson Law Firm was originally commissioned by Charels Knispel, a Civil War veteran, attorney, and entrepreneur in the late 1870’s. In 1903 Charles Spoeneman, president of The Enterprise Foundry, and his family moved into the house and members of his family remained there until 1958.
Since 1987 the Nelson Firm has occupied—and restored—the building.
Artist Information: Joyce Neutzling
Red Bud, IL, artist Joyce Neutzling has nurtured an interest in art since high school. Leaving Belleville to move to Randolph County with her husband and children allowed her to again take up painting. When her husband enjoyed his hobby of fishing in the local lakes, she joined him and seized the opportunity to bring along her paints and create the scenery and wildlife that surrounded them. Recognizing her renewed love of painting, she took painting classes with June Kelly of Shiloh, IL, and later Neutzling enrolled in art classes at Southwestern Illinois College under the tutelage of Dale Threlkeld, Wayne Shaw and other art faculty members.
Attending workshops in Southern Illinois, Neutzling became more involved in plein air painting. Drawing or using any media outdoors provided her with the ability to see more clearly the negative and positive spaces, lights and shadows, and the impact of the given moment. Her drawings consist of nature magnified in a realistic way and historic sites captured in a soft light.
Neutzling has been an exhibitor in many street shows including those in Belleville,IL, O’Fallon, IL, Webster Groves, MO; and the Maeystown Spring Art Show. The artist is a member of the Gateway East Artists Guild, the St. Louis Art Guild and the Color Pencil Society of Chicago, IL.
11) Charles E. King-designed Residence – McClintock Ave
Architect Charles E. King | Kloess Home
1015 McClintock Avenue Belleville, IL 62220
The residence at 1015 Mc Clintock Avenue was uniquely designed in a mid-century modern style to fit a very narrow lot by Architect Charles E. King in 1949. It was built by George Kloess, the first owner. The home is currently owned by Scott and Carol Hathaway.
Artist Information: David Cornell
A 31-year military career helped to expand artist David Cornell’s knowledge and experience of art. In his travels in the U.S. Air Force, he was able to observe artists around the world that broadened his early interest in landscape painting that began with art lessons during his early childhood in Northern California. He studied art throughout college as he worked toward eventually earning a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 1963 at Arizona State U. He retired as a Brigadier General and then began a second career in airport design and construction management.
In 2000 he returned to landscape painting. In recent years, he has had the opportunity to attend workshops in plein air painting. These have allowed him to capture sites in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois and Missouri to name just a few.
Cornell enjoys teaching plein air painting workshops and individual classes. Painting with other artists at least once a week provides him with exchanges of ideas and constructive critiques. His personal paintings consist of approximately 100 original paintings depicting local scenes.
Cornell is a member of the Gateway East Artists Guild, the Highland Arts Council, and the Northern Missouri Arts Council. He is also a founding member of the Missouri Plein Air Painters Association.
12) Garfield Streetscape
600 E Garfield Street Belleville IL, 62220
East Garfield Street between Abend Street and Mascoutah Avenue is totally intact architecturally. The brick street houses were built in the German Klassissimus Style and date from 1850 to 1895.
Belleville, founded in 1814, was well established by 1830 and appeared on the German migration route maps that featured the National Road overland from the east and river routes from New Orleans.
Small, handmade brick houses built close to the street allowed for deep backyards for flower and vegetable gardens, wells, smoke houses and wash houses. Some of the homes have two front doors; this does not indicate a duplex but simply a four-room home with an exterior door for each room.
This section of East Garfield Street is part of the Old Belleville Historic District.
Artist Information: Susan Rogers
A professional artist, Susan Rogers uses soft pastels to create landscape paintings. The artist is quick to point out that pastel is not to be confused with colored chalk. Chalk is a limestone substance impregnated with dyes whereas pastels are pure pigment and are very permanent when framed properly. Rogers enjoys working outdoors where nature serves as her instructor. Her goal is to allow her painting to reflect her feelings about the subject she has captured on her canvas. The self-taught Rogers permanently captures in her artwork the disappearing landscape that is being overtaken by urban sprawl. Although she received a degree in Radiologic Technology from Southwestern Illinois University and utilized her skill, she continued to pursue her love of art by attending workshops and working with well-known artists for the past 25 years.
It is her wish that her paintings slow down the fast pace of our everyday lives as well as promote concern for Green Issues by capturing her impressions of the scene she is painting. Whether painting plein air or painting in her studio, it is important to the artist to work with “efficiency.” Simplifying what she observes allows Rogers to capture the essence of the light and magic that drew her to the scene in the first place. This past summer, her artwork was the recipient of an Award of Excellence at the Art Fair at Queeny Park in St.Louis, and a Best of Category at the Midwest Salute to the Arts in Fairview Heights, IL. She is a member of the Illinois Artisans, Gateway East Artists Guild, the Pastel Society of America and co-founder and member of the Gateway Pastel Artists in St. Louis, MO. She is represented by the Illinois Artisans Gallery near Rend Lake in Whittington, IL.
More on Charles E. King
Three locations featured by artists this year were designed by Midcentury Modern architect Charles E. King, whose portfolio is being rediscovered and pieced together. This fall the Belleville Historical Society, in partnership with Lindenwood University, will open a permanent exhibit featuring the life and Belleville works of King (see album below). The exhibit will be housed in the Alan J. Dixon Student Center (formerly the cafeteria building of Belleville West High School) at Lindenwood University, which was designed by King and built in 1957.
The Historical Society will hold an opening reception for the Charles E. King exhibit on Sunday, November 4 from 2-4 p.m. at the Alan J. Dixon Student Center. Event information will be posted to the website this fall, and will also be available at the Plein Air Art Auction on September 15th.
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