Style Imitating Art: “The Lovers”

Style Imitating Art…

Welcome to Style Imitating Art which comes from Salazar, Shelbee, and me. You can think of this series as fashion meets art museum! SIA challenges people to find inspiration in different art works, create looks based upon that art work, and share them with the curator for that piece. I am this week’s curator with two beautiful pieces of art.. I hope you enjoy this post, the information, and my interpretation.

How it works…

Every other Monday one of us selects an inspiration piece of art and posts the image on their blog. We then invite others to interpret that art work through their style. The following Monday, we share our outfits. The curator shares submissions the following Wednesday on her blog. I chose this week’s art work for this round of Style Imitating Art. If you’d like, you can read why I chose it here. Please send your photo to me by Tuesday, October 22nd by 10 pm EST. Style Imitating Art is an interesting way to inspire your outfits. You can see a few of my looks here, here, here, and here.

About the artist…

Maude Kauffman Eggemeyer was born in New Castle, Indiana which is about a 90 minute drive from me. That’s if there’s no road construction. Then, all bets are off! Eggemeyer was born December 9, 1877. Her father was an architect and was her first instructor. She attended Earlham College (another connection…we visited Earlham when our oldest was looking at colleges) in Richmond, Indiana. I was unable to discover if she graduated from Earlham. While there, she studied under John Elwood Bundy. In 1904, she was the first woman to receive a scholarship to the Art Academy of Cincinnati where she studied with Frank Duveneck and Lewis Henry-Meakin. In addition, she studied with the Overbeck Sisters in Cambridge City, IN as well as with J. Ottis Adams at the Hermitage in Brookville, IN.

A little more…

Back in Richmond, Eggmeyer became a member of the Richmond Group. This was a group of primarily untrained artists painting in the en plein air style. The Richmond Group was working and painting together for years before the Hoosier Group, which included TS Steele, another Hoosier. Its origins (the Richmond Group) were in the 1870s, years before the Hoosier Group.

Still more…

Eggemeyer became known for her “tranquil depictions in both the garden landscape and floral still life. A brilliant colorist, she was one of the leading women artists of the State of Indiana and has had her work exhibited all over the United States. She was a founder of the Richmond Palette Club and exhibited in the Art Association of Richmond’s Annual Exhibition, John Herron Art Institute, Cincinnati Art Academy, the Hoosier Salon, and the Brooklyn Museum of Fine Arts, New York (source).”

Even more…

Known primarily for painting gardens, Eggemeyer traveled to neighboring Ohio homes to paint the gardens of prominent families. She also painted the portraits of Richmond luminaries, including Ellen Bartel. “Her work has gained significant recognition of late, bringing record prices at auction (source).” Maybe, I need to get an auction estimate on my two pieces! Her oil paintings of gardens, landscapes and still life scenes helped to make her well known. Apparently, she only dabbled a bit in water colors.

A skosh more…

Maude married Elmer Eggemeyer, the postmaster of Richmond. She painted in the studio of their home at South 18th and A streets. Eggemeyer helped her father design this home. She also painted while in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where the Eggemeyers had a summer home. Unfortunately, in 1931, Elmer killed himself, and Maude appeared to have stopped painting at that time. She passed December 1, 1959, in Asheville, North Carolina. She had moved there to live with her sister. Her paintings are in many private collections and museums, including the Haan Mansion Museum of Indiana Art in Lafayette, Indiana, the Richmond Art Museum, Indiana State Museum, and the Louise and Alan Sellars Collection of Art by American Women in Indianapolis. She is buried in the Kaufman family plot at Earlham Cemetery in Richmond, Indiana.

About the art work…

My particular prints are mounted on some kind of paper which has discolored over the years. The actual prints measure 8.5 x 13.25 in (21.6 x 33.7 cm). I have looked at them quite closely, and I still can’t tell if they are originals or not. I will have to show them to my friend who is an artist. If they are originals, they appear to be watercolors on paper with some other media used for smiles and to add interest in other places. And, these were just a couple of pictures my father-in-law didn’t want anymore and gave to Nigel.

My interpretation…

I was stymied when Em from Dust and Dog Hair commented that she was pretty sure she knew what I’d wear. Hmmm…I’m pretty sure this is not what she was thinking! I don’t really have any ball gowns in my closet (though I do have a big, poufy wedding dress in the front closet). I don’t even have that many blue dresses, and I certainly don’t have any festooned with pink ribbons. So, I pulled out the two plain blue dresses I had and asked Nigel to pick. He picked this denim Market dress from April Cornell. There are two corduroy Market dresses on the site right now. I’m linking to the cocoa version. I bought mine in Asheville a couple of years ago. In case you’re curious, the Asheville store wasn’t affected as badly by Helene though they don’t have water. I don’t know if the store is open. If you want to contribute to the efforts to help Asheville, you can donate here to the Beloved Asheville charity. “BeLoved Asheville is a local charity that has been on the ground with its volunteers, collecting and distributing supplies to those in need.”

The Lewk!

I didn’t have any shoes with really pink flowers on them, but these Bohemia Floral Beaded sandals seemed the best bet. They are from Superladystar.com. I still don’t know if I would recommend them or not. The shoes and sandals I’ve gotten (only two pairs) have been nice, but the shipping time is several weeks with very poor communication. You can sign up for emails and receive coupons for discounts on a somewhat regular basis. I added in this pendant necklace with the large pink “stone” from J Jill, the matching bracelet, a multi-band cuff, and pink topaz earrings. I think the cuff is from Premier Designs, and the earrings are from eBay. My hat is from Target, and I just tied on some ribbon I had on hand. The scarf was a gift from my daughter before she was married and came from Coldwater Creek.

Wrap it up, Marsha!

I think it is a doggone shame I can find so much information about male painters, but someone like Maude Kauffman Eggemeyer has only a little bit to be found. I realize she was from Indiana so probably not on the radar of the big boys, but TC Steele was also a Hoosier! I honestly was surprised Maude Eggemeyer warranted a Wikipedia page! So, can we talk? Have you heard of Maude Eggemeyer? Do you, perhaps, have some hidden pieces of art hanging around your home? What do you think I should do with these two art works? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.

Don’t forget…

If you want to be included in the Style Imitating Art round up, send me your photo by 10:00 pm EST Tuesday, October 22nd. Photos of everyone participating will appear on my blog on Wednesday, October 23rd! If you’re interested in join us, consider all of your options…the colors, the landscape, the soft pastels and figures. You could have lots of fun creating a look! Come on, give it a try! I think you’ll love it!

Thank you!

I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

Affiliate links, discount codes and such:

Just a reminder that Marsha in the Middle may use an affiliate link. Those links are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link I provide, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support. I am an April Cornell Brand Ambassador for another season. You can use my code, MARSHA15, for $15 off any order over $100. Use Marsha12 for 12% off any order of $65 or more at Buykud. I have also become a Halftee Partner. Use the code, MARSHA2098, for 20% off any purchase. I am also an affiliate with Clara Sunwoo. You can use my code, MARSHA10, for 10% off your entire order. In case you didn’t know, bloggers must disclose the use of affiliate links. That’s why I include this in each post.

Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

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