Theodore Clement Steele, American, 1847–1926
1892
Oil on canvas
67.94 cm x 100.33 cm | 26 ¾ in x 39 ½ in
Framed: 83.18 cm x 116.20 cm | 32 ¾ in x 45 ¾ in
Signed and dated in red, lower left, T.C. Steele 1892
Owned by Columbia Club, Indianapolis, Indiana
Portrait not available for public viewing
On the Muscatatuck is one of T.C. Steele’s most important paintings, having been exhibited in the World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893.
This work was painted in Vernon, Indiana, in the previous autumn. Its selection for the World’s Columbian in Chicago was a big honor for Steele. The painting was given a place of prominence in the Fine Arts Building, “on the line,” meaning at eye level.
These large exhibitions would hang the artwork “salon style,” meaning the walls were stacked with paintings from top to bottom. Eye level hanging was an honor, making the work more viewable for visitors.
There were a total of 1,075 oils and watercolors in the American section, and the Chicago exposition was the largest international exhibited ever mounted in the United States.
Today the painting hangs in the lobby of The Columbia Club behind the 1925 Apollo grand piano Hoagy Carmichael used when he played nightly at the Club during the winter of 1928-1929. His orchestra used the name “Columbia Club Orchestra”1
The Club was established in 1888 as the Harrison Marching Society to support the candidacy of General Benjamin Harrison of Indianapolis as President. After Harrison won election in that year, the society decided to incorporate as a permanent organization and chose the name Columbia Club, based on the popular alternative name for America at the time.
The Club has occupied three buildings at its prominent location on Monument Circle, and the current building opened in 1925. Designed in English Tudor style by the noted Indianapolis architects Rubush and Hunter and features lavishly appointed interiors with sculptures and plaster details by top Indiana artists.
The present building has hosted famous personalities and holds a tradition of important business and civic meetings being held at the club.
In 1926, Queen Marie of Romania was welcome to the city with a banquet at the Club, and the next year Charles Lindberg, the American Eagle, was honored at the Columbia Club for flying solo from New York to Paris.
In 1976, President Ronald Regan keynoted the annual Beefsteak Dinner held since 1891.
In the previous clubhouse the four founders of the Indianapolis 500, Carl Fisher, James A. Allison and Arthur C. Newby, met in 1909 at the Club and discussed building the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In more recent years, the agreement to bring the Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis was finalized at a meeting in a Columbia Club suite.1
The Columbia Club was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. T.C. Steele was a member of the Club during the time he and his family lived in Indianapolis at Tinker Place (1885 – 1901).3
Special thanks to The Columbia Club and to Jim Ross of James R. Ross Fine Art, Indianapolis, Indiana for providing subject matter expertise for this important work.
references
¹ Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. “Columbia Club.” Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, September 4, 2025. https://indyencyclopedia.org/columbia-club/.
2 “Columbia Club.” Indiana Historical Society. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/dc012/id/14427.
3 “Tinker Studio.” TC Steele Historic Trail. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://trail.tcsteele.org/tinker/.