T.C. Steele State Historic Site
2595 Tulip Tree Rd, Nashville, IN
Nashville, IN
The wooded Brown County hilltop where an Indiana painter chased the light, kept a studio full of easels, and helped spark an artists' colony.
The T.C. Steele State Historic Site preserves the hilltop home and studio of Theodore Clement Steele, the most celebrated of the Hoosier Group of impressionist painters, who moved to this Brown County ridge in 1907 and named his home the House of the Singing Winds for the constant breeze across the crest. Here Steele painted the rolling, wooded landscapes of southern Indiana in shifting light, and his large studio still holds easels, brushes, and canvases.
The site is as much about a partnership as a painter. Steele's second wife, Selma, transformed the raw hilltop into gardens of peonies and native plantings and shaped the grounds into a work of art in their own right. The couple's presence helped draw other artists to Brown County, seeding the Nashville arts colony that still defines the area, and today the house, studio, gardens, and trails are open to visitors as a window into that world.
What Guests Love
- The House of the Singing Winds and Steele's large studio, kept much as he left them
- Impressionist landscapes hung in the very setting that inspired them
- Selma Steele's peony gardens and the hilltop views across Brown County
- Wooded nature trails winding through the ridges the painter loved
Worth Knowing
- The house and studio are typically seen on a guided tour, so plan for a led visit
- The grounds and trails are open more broadly, good for a walk in the hills
- Spring brings the peony gardens and dogwoods, a favorite time to visit
- Check current tour seasons and days before you go
Details
Nashville, IN
Learn about T.C. Steele State Historic Site
The Hoosier Group and a move to the hills
Brown County's wooded ridges lie in the homeland of the Miami (Myaamia), the Shawnee, and the Lenape (Delaware), who knew this hill country long before the artists arrived. The rugged, uncleared terrain that later drew painters for its beauty had been part of these peoples' world for generations.
T.C. Steele made his name as a leader of the Hoosier Group, a circle of Indiana impressionists who painted the state's landscapes in the manner of European impressionism, having trained in Munich. In 1907 Steele and his wife Selma bought land on a Brown County hilltop and built the House of the Singing Winds, seeking the light, air, and scenery of the hills as a subject and a home.
The house, the studio, and the paintings
The home grew over the years into a comfortable house and a large, north-lit studio built for serious work. The studio remains much as Steele used it, filled with easels, painting materials, and canvases, so visitors can stand where he stood and see the tools of his craft.
The site holds a significant collection of Steele's paintings, and seeing his luminous Brown County landscapes in the very place that inspired them is the heart of a visit. The changing light he chased across these ridges still plays over the same hills outside the windows.
Selma's gardens and the grounds
Selma Steele was an artist of the land as much as her husband was of the canvas. She turned the rocky, wind-swept hilltop into gardens of peonies, wildflowers, and native plantings, framing views and softening the ridge into a designed landscape. Her peony beds are a spring highlight, and her vision shaped the entire feel of the property.
Beyond the gardens, wooded nature trails wind through the ridges and hollows the Steeles loved, offering the same forest walks and long views that filled T.C. Steele's canvases. The grounds are a place to linger and to see the country through a painter's eyes.
The Brown County colony and visiting
The Steeles' arrival helped draw other artists to Brown County, and Nashville grew into a lasting arts colony, its galleries and studios still central to the town's identity. Steele's ridge sits at the origin of that story.
The house and studio are usually seen on a guided tour, while the gardens and trails invite a longer, self-guided wander. Spring, with its peonies and dogwoods, and fall, with its famous Brown County color, are the most beautiful times to visit.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Nashville
Nashville
About 5 miles east
The heart of Brown County's arts colony, a village of galleries, craft shops, and studios.
Brown County State Park
About 8 miles east
Indiana's largest state park, famous for its rolling forested hills, overlooks, and blazing fall color.
Bloomington
About 15 miles west, a 25 minute drive
Home to Indiana University, the Eskenazi Museum of Art, and a lively downtown.