Louis F. Mueller (American, 1886-1958)
Louis F. Mueller, a native of Indianapolis, was one of several Indiana painters who travelled to Munich, Bavaria around the end of the 19th century to train in the European tradition. These artists were thoroughly involved in student life in Munich and among them were notable Indiana artists Theodore Clement Steele, John Ottis Adams and William Forsyth. Of their experience in Munich Forsyth said, “It dawned on us that if this kind of work could be developed in Holland and Norway, then why not in America; and granted it could be done in America, then why not Indiana?” Louis Mueller followed in the new tradition set by his older peers and studied at the Royal Bavarian Academy and then in Paris before returning home to become highly active in the Indiana arts community. He entered two paintings into the inaugural exhibition of the important and long running Hoosier Salon in 1925 and continued to exhibit there with excellent reception throughout his career. Louis F. Mueller was a well taught and naturally skilled post-impressionist painter who lovingly rendered scenes of natural beauty from his home state. His friend and fellow artist Daniel Garber poetically described the inspiration of Mueller and the Indiana landscape painters who celebrated their home state through the Hoosier Salon. He said, “It is our duty to try and render back to the world the blessing that we receive from it; and an artist must try to make his fellow creatures share in the pleasure which he has received from Nature.”