Stark, Otto, 1859-1926

Otto Stark (1859-1926) was an Indianapolis-born artist who gained national prominence as a member of the "Hoosier Group," a loose association of Indiana artists that included T. C. Steele, J. Ottis Adams, and William Forsyth. Stark's work most clearly showed the influence of Impressionism, and he often featured children in his work.

Stark's artistic career began at the age of 16 when he was apprenticed to a lithographer in Cincinnati. Stark also enrolled in the School of Design at the University of Cincinnati. He moved to New York in 1879, where he studied at the Art Students' League while supporting himself as an illustrator. Stark studied in Paris from 1885 to 1888, and he exhibited paintings in the Paris Salons of 1886 and 1887. He also married while living in France.

Stark and his family returned to the United States in 1888, living first in New York and later in Philadelphia. After his wife's death in 1891, Stark moved back to Cincinnati. He returned to Indianapolis in 1893 and began offering art classes in his studio. He became the Supervisor of Art at Manual High School in 1899 and an instructor in composition and illustration at the John Herron Art Institute in 1905. He retired from both positions in 1919. As a teacher, Stark influenced such artists as William Edouard Scott, Elmer Taflinger, and John Wesley Hardrick.

Stark remained an active artist until his death. He exhibited paintings at shows in Chicago (1894), Omaha (1898), St. Louis (1904), Buenos Aires (1910), and San Francisco (1915) as well as in local and regional exhibits.

WorldCat record id: 122640609