Category: Events

“Just a quick note of thanks to everyone – what a terrific example of what’s possible when strong partnerships, thoughtful planning and high quality content come together – exactly the kind of impact we aim for. Thank you for all the care that went into making this event such a success.” Fran

Fran Puleo Moyer
Director, UW Connects
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Janine Yorimoto Boldt, PhD, gave an illustrated lecture on the life and art of Theodore Robinson, an Evansville native who became a leading Impressionist painter in the late 19th century. Blending her own expertise in art history with historical research on Robinson’s early life – some of it by Evansville’s leading local historian Ruth Ann Montgomery – Dr. Boldt showed how Robinson’s personal history entwined with the developing style of Monet, Degas, and other French Impressionist painters.

Robinson left Evansville to develop his craft in New York and later in Paris but, Dr. Boldt explained, he ended up doing his best work after returning to the United States and applying the techniques he learned in France to American subjects.

The presentation was the result of a year’s worth of planning and development by Grove Society members in cooperation with UW-Madison Badger Talks. Dr. Boldt, who is currently employed at the Chazen Museum at UW-Madison, agreed to prepare the lecture on her own time. Badger Talks, the speaker’s bureau for UW-Madison, brought the project to PBS Wisconsin, which sent a crew to live stream the presentation and record it for later broadcast on its program, University Place. Currently, you can find the talk on the University Place YouTube channel. There was a great turnout of residents and out-of-town visitors including several members of Robinson’s own family. The event represented a wonderful collaboration between different groups to keep Theodore Robinson’s legacy alive.

The Evansville Grove Society is pleased to announce that its headquarters and museum in the historic Baker Building, at the lower entrance to Leonard-Leota Park, will open to the public on Saturday, June 7.  Visitors will be welcome from 1 pm to 4 pm, every Saturday until September 30 or by appointment.  The one exception will be on the fourth weekend in August, when the Grove Society will host its annual History in the Park observance at the Leonard-Leota Park Upper Pavilion.  This year’s History in the Park will feature a presentation on the history of the Varco – Pruden Manufacturing Company of Evansville (now Bluescope Buildings North America).
 
This year the museum will highlight photographs and artifacts from many of Evansville’s noteworthy businesses over the decades.  Grove Society members will be on hand to welcome visitors, explain the exhibits, and talk about the Society’s plans for the upcoming season.   The Baker Building formerly served as the administrative headquarters for the Baker Manufacturing Company; the Grove Society led the effort to preserve it at its current location.  Also on the site, at the corner of Madison Street and Antes Drive, is the Antes Tourist Cabin, which originally served as overnight lodging for motorists in the 1930s.
 
Building on its improvements to the site over the past few years, the Grove Society recently reorganized and catalogued its collection of documents and artifacts to make them more accessible to the public.  A generous grant from the Evansville Chamber of Commerce paid for museum-quality storage tools to aid in the effort.  The Society recently refreshed its website with information about its collections, its work in preserving Evansville history, and its activities past and present.  The website can be found at https://grovesociety.org.