Yellow+Springs+Art+History+before+1960

1894: Wheeling Gaunt donated ten acres of land to Yellow Springs with an agreement that sugar and flour be delivered to widows of Yellow Springs. The tradition has continued for more than 100 years. [|more.]

1910-1977: Louise Odiorne (Designer/Artist) - designer of the rock landscape surrounding the Yellow Springs and the steps going down into the Glen

1925: Downtown gallery (where Downing's Do It Best Hardware is today)

1925-1955: Robert Whitmore taught painting and drawing at Antioch College

1928-1997: Grace Valley - accomplished portrait artist

1929: Little Art Theater begins to show films

1934: The Yellow Springs Writer's Group began
 * Constance Sontag (Poet/Playwright) - a member for over 40 years
 * Suzanne Clauser - member; she published fiction and non fiction and for 33 years wrote award winning TV scripts and adaptation

=1940's = *Yellow Springs Area Theatre was very active.

1941: Alex Horn //Preparation for Life// oil on canvas Post Office 120 Corry Street  Yellow Springs News: Post Office Mural Gets a Shine

1943: Little Peace Conference - two week conference held at the John Bryan High School Gym. Chairman Mayor Lowell Fels. Organizers included Author Morgan and 27 representative businessmen and educators from Yellow Springs. Among many post WWII concerns for the development of community government, infrastructure and jobs, the group dreamed of a space to come together for the arts and other community activities.

1945: Louise Betcher moved to Yellow Springs. She wrote a weekly column for the YS News called "The Anecdoter."

1945: Meredith Dallas became involve with the Antioch Players at the Opera House

1947: Meredith Dallas was hired to teach theater at Antioch College- which he did for the next 30 years

 1949: Beginning of the restoration of the Yellow Springs in Glen Helen to it's natural state. Countless artists have captured the natural beauty of this site.

=1950's = Throughout the 1950's, art classes and events organized under the Yellow Springs Arts Association (precursor to the Yellow Springs Arts Council) were held all over Yellow Springs in such places as: Mill House, Fels House, G. Stanley Hall building, Mills Lawn School, Carr Nurseries and many private homes.

1950's: Village of YS offices housed at the Union School House buildings

In the early 50's Louise Soelberg taught dance at Antioch and choreographed for the Antioch Shakespeare Festival. She also had a dance studio at N. College and Xenia Ave. She taught dance the Antioch School.

In the 50's Pete Seeger came with the Weavers and played at Mills Lawn.

1950's: Meredith and Willa Dallas hosted "village sings held in their backyard, often led by Walter Anderson. What seemed like half the town would gather around a bonfire in the glow of mayonnaise jars with lit candles hanging from trees, singing folk songs and spirituals."

1950's: The Opera House had lots of plays performed in it, using local actors.

1950's: Phyllis Cannon put marbles and tiles in sidewalks around town. You can still find them.

1952-1956: Shakespeare-Under-the-Stars Festival of the Antioch Area Theater. [|Arthur Lithgow] led the program. By the end of 5 seasons more than 135,000 people had attended. The festival was hailed as "the first time in the whole wide world that all of the master's works were presented in such a short time."

1950-59: The Yellow Springs Arts Association

1951-1974: Howard Kahoe, first Village Manager

1952: Mills Lawn School was built in front of the Mills House, which continued to exist behind it for some times. The community and YSAC used this building for arts and other extra curricular like sports.

1958-?: The Lemon Tree was a tea shop in town that had live folk singers, who performed there regularly.

1959: Yellow Springs Arts Council (before its incorporation in 1972) formed to fill the gap in support of the arts after the dissolution of the Arts Association. YSAC continued education and promotion of the arts in Yellow Springs. Phyllis Cannon helped start it.


 * Note: The Yellow Springs Art History Project is a wiki, a continually evolving historic document. We welcome edits and additions of facts, figures, dates and details that tell the story off the arts in Yellow Springs. Further research is particularly needed for items with an asterisk*. Email the moderator for edits and additions to the Yellow Springs Art History Project wiki. email **


 * Yellow Springs Art History 1960's **