By Alexa Shrake, Indiana Lawyer
After nearly two decades in the making, the finish line is in sight for a courthouse art project that is expected to cover all 92 Indiana counties.
In 2007, Douglas Church, senior partner at Noblesville-based law firm Church Church Hittle + Antrim, started the Courthouse Art Project.
His goal was to collect original art depicting all of the state’s courthouses.
“The art can be in any type of medium, from watercolor to paint, and in any style, from realistic to impressionistic. Since no other criteria is required, the resulting collection is quite eclectic,” Carissa Long, associate executive director at the Indiana State Bar Association, said.
The collection covers all art mediums from watercolors to needlepoint.
“Most pictures are new, a few are antique; styles range from realistic to expressionistic,” Long said.
Hancock County Bar Association donated a painting by local artist Deborah Smith to the collection in 2009. Her painting of the Hancock County Courthouse was first commissioned in 1996, as the county celebrated the courthouse’s 100th anniversary.
Karen Christensen completed the most recent artwork, which was a painting of the Johnson County Courthouse in Franklin.
Whenever an artist finishes their work, Church makes it special by meeting with them at the courthouse and inviting locals in to see the art.
“This unique collection is intended to focus on the importance of our judicial system and the recognition by our ancestors of the significance of a society governed by the Rule of Law. These courthouses are magnificent and represent the secular notion of a cathedral dedicated to equal protection of the laws,” Church said.
Many of Indiana’s courthouses date back centuries, while some counties have built recent new structures after having outgrown the original buildings.
For example, Marion County has its new Community Justice Campus, and Morgan County is currently building its new structure, but plans to keep its historic courthouse standing.
End in sight
Church received the 2023 Arts Patron of the Year Award from Nickel Plate Arts for his efforts.
He said Cathleen Huffman was instrumental in helping the project reach its finish line.
Huffman is a member of the Watercolor Society of Indiana and became connected with Church through her love for art and historic architecture.
“Once I met (Church) and learned about what he was doing, I thought it was really neat,” Huffman said.
She said the first time she was able to participate in one of the gatherings that celebrated the finished artwork, she enjoyed how Church talked about the courthouses.
Church described how important courthouses were in Indiana’s early years of statehood and how at the time, Hoosiers knew they could go to the courthouse and peacefully resolve any issue they had.
“I never really thought of courthouses like that. And I thought that sounded really simple, but so powerful. It just really stuck with me,” Huffman said.
So far, artwork displaying 87 courthouses has been collected.
The remaining counties are Cass, Clinton, Greene, Rush and Spencer.
The artwork was on public display at the Indiana State Bar Association headquarters in downtown Indianapolis until the association relocated in 2022.
Some artwork is still on display. In 2016, the paintings were put on display at Conner Prairie throughout the year as one of several bicentennial projects on display there.
“The plan is for the assemblage to eventually be permanently housed in a new state judicial building,” Long said.
Long added that different artists have been involved in the project along the way.
“Each county has devised its own means to procure their artwork. Some paintings have been completed by lawyers and judges,” Long said. “In the case of Putnam County, the project was brought to the attention of the Heritage Preservation Society, which then consulted with the Greencastle Arts Council. They, in turn generously agreed to sponsor a chosen member artist to complete the commission. Other counties have conducted contests.”
Huffman described the courthouses as “beautiful and complicated” with “great history in them.”
“When they all get put together, I think it’s going to be amazing,” Huffman said. •
