The Casper Artists Guild, 1920’s
By Valerie Innella Maiers, Ph.D., ART 321 Volunteer
The dynamic, electric atmosphere of ART 321 art exhibition receptions are inspiration, aesthetic ebullience, and facilitators of enlightened conversations. Even during the pandemic, watching wearable art modeled in the gallery over social media allowed the viewer to connect with the world of art. The exhibitions have been uplifting and a reminder of the perseverance of the human spirit thriving and healing through artistic creation, even during our community’s darkest hours this past year. How much has changed in technology, accessibility, and the engaging space utilized in almost 100 years since the inception of the Casper Artists Guild! However, these member artists, art lovers, and friends are still showcasing their creativity and supporting each other through artist lectures, events, and classes as they have for decades.
I am honored to have access to the remaining records of the early pioneers of the Casper Artists Guild and I am writing to share and celebrate the talented individuals whose legacy has opened so many doors for the progression of artists in honing their skills and offering a physical site for inspiration that we know today as ART 321.
Spark and boom! What an exciting town Casper must have been in the early 1920’s as the oil industry offered economic prosperity and the “roaring 20’s” saw dramatic population growth, infrastructure foundations laid, and architectural developments. Downtown, brick mansions and charming wooden bungalows were constructed. These architecture embodiments of the artisan’s talents were each a unique artistic voice, a reaction perhaps, as architectural historians note, to the mass-produced goods of Machine Age. The homes had modern conveniences of the period, welcoming front porches, and facades in diverse materials. The populace must have been artistically inspired as this is the time when impressive monuments, such as Natrona County High School and Neoclassical Casper National Bank, were also constructed. Walking the area today, the gifts from these early townspeople include not only the expressive architecture but also wide streets lined with cottonwood, elm, and linden trees and parks where children play and we gather for special events such as a parade day. Heading west, we find structures from this time period being renovated. ART321, housed in an old food distribution warehouse, is a part of this urban renewal and an embracing of our downtown. The history of ART 321 begins with The Artists Guild, born in the 1920’s.
The earliest references to artist collectives in newspapers researched include a Fine Arts Department of the Casper Women’s Club in the early 1920’s and the Casper Fine Arts Club in the later 20’s. The names related to this latter group include Mrs. Ruth Joy Hopkins, who with her husband Linton Hopkins, are credited with forming the Casper Artists Guild and inspiring others to join them. A newspaper article, from 1951, states that the Guild was formed in 1924 and noted that meetings were at the Casper Woman’s Clubhouse. A handwritten note in a scrapbook, as well as a 1952 newspaper article, lists the “first members of the Art Guild 1925” to include Tom Carrigan, Eva Carrigan, Lin Hopkins, Ruth Joy Hopkins, Jac Kaiser, Bill Davis, Jack Wilson, Leon Goodrich, Mrs. McCann (Roy Sands), and Neal Forsling. The organization’s notes then pick up in the 1940’s but Ruth Joy Hopkins is listed as the earliest President when the group planned exhibitions, offered workshops, and related events.
Ruth Joy Hopkins (1891-1973) married fellow artist Linton Hopkins (1886-1968) in 1913. The Nebraskans moved to Casper in 1918 and began raising their family. Ruth Joy had come to Wyoming to join her husband working for the Midwest Refining Company and initially Lin homesteaded on 640 acres on the south side of Casper Mountain beyond Bear Trap. He also served as the Mayor of Parco, now known as Sinclair, Wyoming in the 1920’s. Lin attended the University of Chicago and the Chicago Art Academy and created many etching and watercolor paintings but “his specialty was oil” (Casper Star Tribune, May 27, 1977). He was invited to share his paintings in many solo and group exhibitions across the country.
Much of the art produced from “Casper’s first family of artists” (Casper Morning Star, October 29, 1950) focused on the landscape and historical subjects such as Wyoming pioneers. One of these series, by Ruth Joy titled “The Trail Blazers”, was purchased by the Wyoming Landmarks Association. Ruth Joy Studio started in 1918, hosting exhibitions with other Artist Guild members, and the couple always promoted the arts in Wyoming. Ruth Joy was active in the Casper Fine Arts Club and the local DAR and gave art lessons, including free lessons to the Girl Scouts. They captured images of the American southwest and dedicated time to sketching each summer in Mexico at their studio in San Miguel de Allende. In a newspaper article featuring art inspired by their Mexico travels, Ruth Joy is wearing a traditional Mexican La Chin Poblano, a ruffled cotton blouse and full skirt beaded with spangles and red hair ribbon. The festivities included a discussion of Ruth Joy’s portrait series, Mexican music and traditional foods. I am especially captivated by another photo of the couple in the cabin built by Olaf Fougstedt on Casper Mountain. Ruth Joy is wearing a dark dress with embroidery at the bodice and above a flowing ruffled hem, characteristic of the huipil dresses worn by women in Mexico.
The Hopkins’ beloved “Star Wallow” cabin was host to a “rendezvous of artists, writers, philosophers, photographers and many friends” (Casper Star Tribune, March 27, 1977). The mountain cabin featured a “rose window”, as she called it, fashioned from two windows from the first Catholic Church in Casper. This was a place of recreation, too, for their children and their daughter Nancy Simpson, who also became a notable artist. Their circle of friends included Neal Forsling and Tom and Eva Carrigan, as well as those living further afield such as the celebrated artists Bill Gollings and Hans Kleiber. Life drawing sessions were held at the cabin and apparently, even during prohibition, there was “home brew” for their guests. The mountain afforded artistic inspiration and an exceptional quality of life. An expert golfer, Lin was said to use a 9 hole course at Bear Trap. While I am unfamiliar where that course may be today, Ruth Joy’s Maine Daisies are still said to bloom on the mountain, brought in seeds from her grandmother, who had come west in a covered wagon in 1857 and her miniature painting of Indian Painbrush adorns a basket in the Fort Caspar collection.
In Who’s Who in American Art, the Hopkins home is listed at 1607 South Elm in a quiet, peaceful neighborhood block filled with families, kids outside playing, and strollers passing the beautiful homes set under the tall trees. The house listed has the typical attributes of the bungalow style with a rounded arch over the front door. There is a pleasing craftsmanship to the homes here and a talented artist lives just a couple doors down today.
Ruth Joy was a member of multiple national arts organizations including serving as a founding member of the Wyoming Artists Association and studied at prestigious academies such as the St. Louis School of Fine Arts. Both Hopkins were listed in Who’s Who in Modern Art and had multiple exhibitions, including solo installations for Ruth Joy at venues such as the University of Wyoming Art Museum and The Denver Art Museum. Her work was also celebrated in the community such as her commissioned portrait of former Governor B.B. Brooks installed at the Wyoming National Bank in 1953. Her subject matter often includes detailed renderings of historic sites or cabins on Casper Mountain, stemming from an artistic eye that clearly perceived and adored her subject. These solid structures are alive with history and her sensitivity to the design element of line is evident. It was written that she also enjoyed painting images of sheep wagons, “intrigued by the compact interiors with their cupboards, stoves, and beds long before the time of mobile homes” (Casper Star Tribune, May 27, 1977). Her settings are always carefully composed and background atmospheric details abound. However, in portraits I have viewed, the focus is on the character of the individual portrayed; the background is devoid of visual references. For example, in the Portrait of Casper Collins, the greenish hues behind the figure are complimentary to his reddish hair and the violet a contrast to the gold embellishments of his uniform. At Casper College, Ruth Joy’s oil painting Father DeSmet is part of the Fine Art Collection and is treasured as an important part of our cultural heritage.
The Hopkins’ art created is now part of many collections such as the State Capital Permanent Collection. After the couple’s move to Nebraska in 1942, they still returned to Casper Mountain, moving to Valhalla area. On a golden anniversary trip, the couple traveled to Europe, painting in France, Portugal, Spain, England, and Scotland. The legacy of art, comradery, and interest in the world around them lives on through the current activities at ART 321.
Since only limited pieces of this history survive in print, please help us further construct the story. As a member of ART321, you are an important part of this organization, weaving the tapestry of this narrative for future artists. Please share your knowledge, history, and any edits that should be made specifically to the 1920’s. The next decades and other founding members will be reviewed soon! Your engagement is appreciated.
Valerie Innella Maiers, Ph.D., ART 321 Volunteer
Resources:
Casper Morning Star / Casper Star Tribune
Fort Caspar, Curator of Collections Michelle Bahe
Western History Center
Artist Guild Files
Casper College Foundation Fine Art Collection Files
Casper: A Pictorial History (1986) by Edna Gorrell Kukura and Susan Niethammer True
American Bungalow Style (1996) by Robert Winter and Alexander Vertikoff
Beaux Arts:
The Casper Artists’ Guild in the 1940’s
By Valerie Innella Maiers, Ph.D., ART 321 Volunteer
by Valerie innella Maiers, Ph.D., ART 321 Volunteer
Our previous adventure back in time took us to Star Wallow where, on Casper Mountain, Lin and Ruth Joy Hopkins entertained their fellow artist friends and member of the Artist’s Guild. In this installment, we will journey through history with Marjorie Bisiar, who attended Guild programming with her aunt and uncle as young child and even held membership in the 1940’s.
Marjorie’s uncle Bill, William F. Johnson, was born in St. Louis, Missouri and moved with aunt “Milly”(Pamela Maynard Johnson) to Casper in 1919, after his service in WWI. Their admiration of all art forms is evident from their contributions to the community for decades. Marjorie’s sister believes that they spent a year or two in Paris, France, studying art. In Casper, Bill played with Lafe Cassidy’s Dancing Band before he had his own orchestra, the Sundodgers, playing in cities such as Midwest, Billings, and Casper. Newspaper advertisements for the dances featuring “Bill Johnson and His Sundodgers” include illustrations of fashionably dressed couples under illuminated paper lanterns, such as one for the Wyoming State Fair that states “where the crowd is and where all the fun takes place”. Bill was elected Constable of District 1 in Natrona County, a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge, and was active in American Legion as a member of their Aloha Committee, which saw the enlisted men off to World War II and the Korean War, presenting soldiers with cards, cigarettes, and postcards. Bill served the Artist Guild as Vice President in 1948 and as a show committee Chairperson with other well-known Guild artists such as Jim Parrish and Earl Reed; Pamela served as library Chairperson. Pamela was also the President in 1945, after Ruth Joy Hopkins who was the earliest President noted in handwritten records, and served as the Chair of art exhibits at the Central Wyoming Fair for many years.
The Guild offered four exhibitions in 1948 in Casper and other cities in Wyoming. Art by guests was also welcome; there is a newspaper clipping advertising an exhibition by San Francisco painter Milton Martin at the Old City Hall from October 1949. The Guild members also submitted work for national exhibitions including the Hallmark greeting card contest in New York. Along with meetings at the Mountain States Power Company Hall, the County Court House, and the Harris Furniture Company, the members took turns hosting sessions. I found record of one from May of 1950 describing a Friday night of entertainment by Pam and Bill Johnson in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Post with 20 others; “coffee and donuts were served”. Marjorie’s early memories are of these meetings, watercolor sessions, and costume dances; her mother made her a cat costume for one of big Guild events.
I am particularly intrigued by the balls held by the guild; who doesn’t love a good party?! The April 30, 1948 Beaux-Arts Ball was held at the V.F.W. Hall with the theme “The Streets of Paris” featuring hand painted murals as a backdrop to an evening setting evocative of a Parisian café with entertainment by Mrs. Profit, Ben Hudson, and Kay Lallent. Music and dancing were part of the balls. The invitation design award went to President George Gougeon that year. Guild meeting minutes revealed that complimentary tickets were given to the radio stations, the press, the Governor and the Mayor. Jean Ann Dunn of the Little Theater, a collaborating community group, would make the sandwiches and the soft drinks bar was run by the V.F.W. It must have been a successful evening, with dozens of guests, as Guild meeting minutes from 1949 state that there would be another ball planned with 95 invitations to be made!
Marjorie also knew Tom and Eva Carrigen, who were founding members of the Guild in the 1920’s. Tom is still well-known as a photographer and the Casper College Foundation Fine Art Collection holds an example of one watercolor landscapes, currently located in the Western History Center Reading Room on campus. This is a timeless image of trees along the precipice of Casper Mountain road, their majestic trunks supporting limbs whose boughs and branches deliver the green shade we admire in summer and the dazzle of gold in fall; the silver thread of the North Platte winding through the landscape below. The Carrigens owned the De Luxe (Photography) Studio on Center Street and were active participants in Artist Guild functions. Born in Indiana, Tom’s family moved to New Mexico and then Denver, where he was educated. Tom served in World War I and came to Casper as a salesman. When that position ended, he stayed, raising artist daughter Eleanore with Eva. Other members such as Jean Goedicke and Gladys Roush are also still remembered and their art can also be found in Casper collections.
The photos of these artists, whether engaged in painting sessions at Casper Mountain locations, installing exhibitions, or enjoying fundraisers, show broad smiles and one can almost hear the laughter and feel the comradery during their pot luck dinners. Members motored to Bessemer Bend in June 1950 to paint, “The sun was hot and the ants were most unkind but all felt compensated for any discomfort” noted Guild Secretary Jean Looeystyn. Evening meetings were also held where members such as Earl Reed, an art teacher at NCHS, discussed the history of art or color theory. Attendees at one meeting all wore “Western costume” to take turns as models for “quickie sketches”. There were dozens of field trips; Marjorie remembers, “it was not uncommon to caravan to the Alcova area where the red hills summoned the paint boxes and pastels of the members”. The group was serious about enhancing their techniques and broadening their skills, inviting guests for lectures and demonstrations but they also gave us a legacy of beauty in art, grace in being, and a history cherished for 100 years. War, the depression, the polio epidemic, and other challenges did not break the Guild, perhaps in part, due to the resilience, hope, and healing power inherent in the creative spirit.
How I would have loved to have heard Bill play the banjo, watch Ruth Joy Hopkins render Indian Paintbrush, breathe the mountain air while Neal Forsling told stories of witches after art sessions at Crimson Dawn (a particularly cherished, magical, memory for Marjorie), and witness Eleanore Carrigen encourage children to critique art; a feeding of the soul with each endeavor. Marjorie, still a working artist today, had that great fortune and in turn, served as President in 1980’s. With fellow artists, the Guild continued to organize workshops, bring guest artists, and offer exhibitions. Bob O’Dell, Jean Goedicke, Margaret Morris and Bobbi Kuxhausen, as well as others, worked at this later time to convert a structure to a new Guild space at 1040 West 15th Street. Meeting minutes from February 5, 1950 state that the Guild “should have a permanent place set aside or primarily intended as a place to exhibit, meet and house a library” and the Guild worked diligently to create a dedicated space to realize that early dream. Through the passion for the arts from these members, the beauty of the Guild has progressed and prospered.
References:
Artist Guild Meeting Minutes, 1948- June 1950
Interview with Marjorie Bisiar, September 2021
Casper Tribune-Herald Newspaper Clippings