Description: Archibald Willard (1836-1918) is one of Ohio's best-known painters and was born in Bedford, Ohio, in 1836. In 1855, he and his family moved to Wellington, Ohio, where Willard became an apprentice to E.S. Tripp and gained experience and training as an artist. During the American Civil War, Willard enlisted in the 86th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He began to draw pictures of what he saw during the war and, in partnership with James F. Ryder, began to sell reproductions of his work. In 1875, Willard moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he set up a studio. It was in Cleveland where Willard painted his most famous work, which he called "Yankee Doodle." Eventually it became know as "The Spirit of 76." He died in 1918. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04086
Subjects: Artists; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Regimental histories;
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: Broadside announcing a recital by Paul Laurence Dunbar and violinist Joseph H. Douglass in Fitzgerald's auditorium, July 9, 1901. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02812
Subjects: Dunbar, Paul Laurence, 1872-1906; Artists--Ohio; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Musical performances
 

Description: Sketch drawn by Elis F. Miller showing a young girl or woman at an easel. The drawing is dated "Jan 27 -80-," and has the name "Miss Fisher" written in the lower right-hand corner, possibly the name of the subject. Miller was born in Canton, Ohio, on October 15, 1840. As a child, both he and his sister Mary Emily sketched and painted. In 1862, Miller joined Company B of the 15th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a musician. When he was mustered out in 1865, Miller went to Columbus, where his mother, Harriet J. Miller, sister “Emily,” and Emily’s husband had moved the previous year. During the early years of his career Miller worked as a photographer to support himself. He continued drawing and primarily worked as a landscape artist, traveling to southern Ohio, West Virginia, and the Lake Erie Islands. These sketches were later used as the basis of his watercolors and etchings. Miller specialized in watercolors and won ten “best” awards at the Ohio State Fair between 1875 and 1881. He exhibited two landscapes at the Philadelphia Exposition in 1876 and made a name for himself with his landscape work in etchings. He used a new European process of the time called “cliché verre,” in which glass photographic plates coated with emulsion were etched with a fine needle. Miller then exposed the plates in the sun next to light-sensitive paper to create the final piece of art. Although Miller’s work was appreciated in Columbus, it was not until the 1880s that it was recognized by East Coast art circles. Today Miller’s work can be found at the Smithsonian, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum of Art. He died of tubercular meningitis on March 20, 1884. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P385_B01F04_001_001
Subjects: Artists; Civil War; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Miller, Elis, 1840-1884; Children;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Cliché verre print by Elis F. Miller showing an unidentified barn with a thatched roof. Cliché verre was a European artistic process in which glass photographic plates coated with emulsion were etched with a fine needle, then exposed in the sun next to light-sensitive paper to create the final piece of art. Miller was born in Canton, Ohio, on October 15, 1840. As a child, both he and his sister Mary Emily sketched and painted. In 1862, Miller joined Company B of the 15th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a musician. When he was mustered out in 1865, Miller went to Columbus, where his mother, Harriet J. Miller, sister “Emily,” and Emily’s husband had moved the previous year. During the early years of his career Miller worked as a photographer to support himself. He continued drawing and primarily worked as a landscape artist, traveling to southern Ohio, West Virginia, and the Lake Erie Islands. These sketches were later used as the basis of his watercolors and etchings. Miller specialized in watercolors and won ten “best” awards at the Ohio State Fair between 1875 and 1881. He exhibited two landscapes at the Philadelphia Exposition in 1876 and made a name for himself with his landscape work in etchings. Although Miller’s work was appreciated in Columbus, it was not until the 1880s that it was recognized by East Coast art circles. Today Miller’s work can be found at the Smithsonian, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum of Art. He died of tubercular meningitis on March 20, 1884. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P385_B01F10_001_001
Subjects: Artists; Civil War; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Miller, Elis, 1840-1884; Barns;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Etching by Elis F. Miller showing a ship docked with a city skyline in the background. The prow of the ship is signed "E F Miller" and dated "82." On the back of the drawing is the name "Ida S. B.," likely referring to Ida Strickler Baldwin, the sister of Miller's mother-in-law. Miller was born in Canton, Ohio, on October 15, 1840. As a child, both he and his sister Mary Emily sketched and painted. In 1862, Miller joined Company B of the 15th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a musician. When he was mustered out in 1865, Miller went to Columbus, where his mother, Harriet J. Miller, sister “Emily,” and Emily’s husband had moved the previous year. During the early years of his career Miller worked as a photographer to support himself. He continued drawing and primarily worked as a landscape artist, traveling to southern Ohio, West Virginia, and the Lake Erie Islands. These sketches were later used as the basis of his watercolors and etchings. Miller specialized in watercolors and won ten “best” awards at the Ohio State Fair between 1875 and 1881. He exhibited two landscapes at the Philadelphia Exposition in 1876 and made a name for himself with his landscape work in etchings. He used a new European process of the time called “cliché verre,” in which glass photographic plates coated with emulsion were etched with a fine needle. Miller then exposed the plates in the sun next to light-sensitive paper to create the final piece of art. Although Miller’s work was appreciated in Columbus, it was not until the 1880s that it was recognized by East Coast art circles. Today Miller’s work can be found at the Smithsonian, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum of Art. He died of tubercular meningitis on March 20, 1884. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P385_B01F11_001_001
Subjects: Artists; Civil War; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Miller, Elis, 1840-1884; Boats;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Etching by Elis F. Miller showing an unidentified rural landscape. Miller was born in Canton, Ohio, on October 15, 1840. As a child, both he and his sister Mary Emily sketched and painted. In 1862, Miller joined Company B of the 15th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a musician. When he was mustered out in 1865, Miller went to Columbus, where his mother, Harriet J. Miller, sister “Emily,” and Emily’s husband had moved the previous year. During the early years of his career Miller worked as a photographer to support himself. He continued drawing and primarily worked as a landscape artist, traveling to southern Ohio, West Virginia, and the Lake Erie Islands. These sketches were later used as the basis of his watercolors and etchings. Miller specialized in watercolors and won ten “best” awards at the Ohio State Fair between 1875 and 1881. He exhibited two landscapes at the Philadelphia Exposition in 1876 and made a name for himself with his landscape work in etchings. He used a new European process of the time called “cliché verre,” in which glass photographic plates coated with emulsion were etched with a fine needle. Miller then exposed the plates in the sun next to light-sensitive paper to create the final piece of art. Although Miller’s work was appreciated in Columbus, it was not until the 1880s that it was recognized by East Coast art circles. Today Miller’s work can be found at the Smithsonian, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum of Art. He died of tubercular meningitis on March 20, 1884. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P385_B03F06_001_001
Subjects: Artists; Civil War; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Miller, Elis, 1840-1884; Farms;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Studio portrait of Elis F. Miller, ca. 1870. Miller was born in Canton, Ohio, on October 15, 1840. As a child, both he and his sister Mary Emily sketched and painted. In 1862, Miller joined Company B of the 15th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a musician. When he was mustered out in 1865, Miller went to Columbus, where his mother, Harriet J. Miller, sister “Emily,” and Emily’s husband had moved the previous year. During the early years of his career Miller worked as a photographer to support himself. He continued drawing and primarily worked as a landscape artist, traveling to southern Ohio, West Virginia, and the Lake Erie Islands. These sketches were later used as the basis of his watercolors and etchings. Miller specialized in watercolors and won ten “best” awards at the Ohio State Fair between 1875 and 1881. He exhibited two landscapes at the Philadelphia Exposition in 1876 and made a name for himself with his landscape work in etchings. He used a new European process of the time called “cliché verre,” in which glass photographic plates coated with emulsion were etched with a fine needle. Miller then exposed the plates in the sun next to light-sensitive paper to create the final piece of art. Although Miller’s work was appreciated in Columbus, it was not until the 1880s that it was recognized by East Coast art circles. Today Miller’s work can be found at the Smithsonian, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum of Art. He died of tubercular meningitis on March 20, 1884. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P385_B06F01_001_001
Subjects: Artists; Civil War; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Miller, Elis, 1840-1884; Photography--Ohio--History--19th century;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Drawing of a monkey band on the back of elephant by L.M. Fisher of Lancaster, Ohio, ca. 1870. The drawing is part of the Ohio Historical Society fine art collection. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05193
Subjects: Artists; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Animals; Musical instruments
Places: Lancaster (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: Howard Chandler Christy's home, located on the Muskingum River about 35 miles south of Zanesville, Ohio. Christy was a prominent American artist in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was born January 10, 1873, in Ohio and spent his youth on his parents' farm near Duncan Falls and the Muskingum River. In 1890 he moved to New York City, where he enrolled at the Art Students League. He soon ran out of money and moved back to Ohio, but he returned to New York in 1892. Christy studied under William Merritt Chase, who encouraged his students to paint their subjects in a realistic manner. The young artist adopted this realistic style and became a successful illustrator for books and magazine articles. He also painted portraits and landscape scenes. During the Spanish-American War, Christy accompanied American soldiers into battle, and his drawings of the battlefields were featured in such leading magazines as "Scribner's," "Harper's," "The Century," and "Leslie's Weekly." After the war he became famous for his artwork depicting a young woman who became known as the "Christy Girl." Christy used her image in books, magazines, calendars, and even patriotic posters. During the next decade he emerged as one of America's most popular artists and illustrators. He returned to his childhood home in Ohio and opened his own studio. His fame continued to grow during the 1910s. He returned to New York and opened a studio in 1915. During World War I he drew posters encouraging his fellow Americans to support the war effort. Once again the "Christy Girl" figured prominently in his artwork. After the war Christy turned to portraiture. During the 1920s he painted the portraits of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, and Eddie Rickenbacker, among other famous subjects. His popularity briefly declined during the Great Depression, but when he resumed painting women and landscape scenes, his celebrity status returned. He created commemorative paintings of historical events. His most famous painting from this era, which portrays the signing of the United States Constitution, hangs in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol. Two of Christy's works from this period also hang in the Ohio Statehouse. Christy died in 1952 in New York City. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05940
Subjects: Christy, Howard Chandler, 1873-1952; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists
Places: Muskingum County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of Dorothea Barney, Charles D. Barney and Rev. Lorin Webster, taken in 1889. Charles D. Barney, pictured on the left, was married to Laura Cooke, daughter of Jay Cooke, a financier who built Cooke Castle on Gibraltar Island in Put-in-Bay. Also appearing in the photograph are Rev. Lorin Webster and Dorothea Barney, daughter of Charles Barney, who later married James Horace Harding. The picture was most likely taken by Jay Cooke's son, Henry, an avid photographer. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03655
Subjects: Gibraltar Island (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists
Places: Gibraltar Island (Ohio); Ottawa County (Ohio)
 

Description: Jacob Zint's saloon and staff in Wapakoneta, Ohio, ca. 1906. A group portrait of one boy, several men, and a dog inside the Zint saloon, which was located on the southeast corner of Blackhoof and Auglaize Streets. Standing behind the bar at the far left, next to an ornate cash register, is Jacob Christian Zint, proprietor, who is wearing a tie and vest with a watch chain. The young boy seated on the bar is Frederick Joseph Zint, his eldest child, who went on to become a musician and vaudeville performer. Jacob Zint also owned a shoe store and candy store in Wapakoneta, and his children formed the Zint Family Orchestra. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05895
Subjects: Wapakoneta (Ohio)--Biography--Pictorial works; Families; Small business--Ohio; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Bars (Drinking establishments);
Places: Wapakoneta (Ohio); Auglaize County (Ohio)
 

Description: Woodcut print of the Hunt farm (formerly Simon Kenton Farm) in Springfield (Clark County), Ohio. Created by Virginia Fox Hunt and Edward Eyre Hunt for a holiday card, ca. 1930. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03783
Subjects: Springfield (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Holidays
Places: Springfield (Ohio); Clark County (Ohio)