A Good Backstory: Eda Sterchi
Portrait of a Young Girl, Watercolor on paper, Gift from the Estate of Kenneth P. McCutchan, Evansville, Indiana, Collection of the USI Art Collection, 2002.020.032.
In my virtual program, Eastern Thought: Decoding the Work of Eda Sterchi we examined the artworks Eda Sterchi created during her time in North Africa. By reevaluating her work through our “Eastern lens” we learned why there is a lack of curatorial interpretation on the gallery labels and why almost every work is titled Untitled. While I discussed Sterchi’s work on an international level, did you know Sterchi has a local connection? Generously sharing her knowledge and expertise, Susan Colaricci Sauls, Director of University Art Collections, at the University of Southern Indiana donated her time to write a blog on the backstory of Eda Sterchi. We are appreciative of Susan’s time and collaboration with the Museum!
Tory Schendel Cox
The Virginia G. Schroeder Curator of Art
Evansville Museum of Art, History & Science
A Good Backstory
The Evansville Museum has appropriately selected 2020 to celebrate women alongside the 100th Anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States, and one of these celebratory exhibits is Eda Sterchi: Nomadic Spirit. Miss Eda Elizabeth Sterchi lived an adventurous life for a woman in early 20th century America and I knew there had to be a good back story. I love a good backstory.
The University of Southern Indiana Art Collection holds two works by Miss Sterchi, both given to USI by art collector and regional historian Kenneth P. McCutchan (1913-2002). McCutchan had a unique style in the way he told stories in his books, public lectures, and weekly newspaper columns. He too loved a good backstory. One of the works, a watercolor by the artist as a teenager, led me to Ken’s papers to learn more about this woman who was unencumbered by societal traditions.
McCutchan’s research tells us that Miss Sterchi was the first of five children of Frederick “Saloon Fred” and his second wife Elizabeth of Olney, Illinois1. Knowing that she was a bride at only 17 years (the marriage ended when she was 25)2, I believe that the watercolor was done prior to her marriage while she was still an innocent young woman and most likely is a self-portrait. The subtle smile and starry eyes provide a clue that young Eda would not follow the path of the other young ladies in her small southern Illinois town.
In 1979 the Olney Daily Mail newspaper ran an article promoting an exhibition “featuring the world-famous artist, Eda Sterchi” at Olney Central College. The newspaper reporter interviewed Miss Sterchi’s niece, Elizabeth Dugan, who stated that the family home was full of paintings by Sterchi, even in the attic. Dugan shared tales about her beloved aunt. How it was “nothing for her to ‘run back and forth across the Atlantic to Paris’…” and how the artist, nicknamed the roadrunner by friends, “arrived in Paris once with only 50 cents to her name”.3
Significant art accomplishments aside, the most interesting part of Miss Eda Sterchi’s story is how she as a single woman was a homesteader in the untamed wilds of the newly formed state of Arizona. Mrs. Dugan recalled how her Aunt Eda “loved the serenity of the desert” and in 1921 was granted a land
patent in Maricopa County, near present-day Paradise Valley4. In order to secure the land as a homesteader, Sterchi was required to meet certain conditions that included building a dwelling, residing on the property for 14 months, and keeping livestock on the land5. Sterchi’s niece continued that “Eda built a one-room house and lived in the desert alone for the required time” and “had to haul water for five miles every day. Also, there was no electricity”. In order to satisfy the livestock condition for homesteaders, the artist purchased a horse, one that she wouldn’t ride because “it wasn’t well”.6
Eda Elizabeth Sterchi, a noted artist for good reason, displayed the grit and grace of many women celebrated by the Museum this year. The story of her homesteading in the desert of Arizona illustrates the core of her nomadic spirit. When Sterchi died in 1969 her body was cremated, and her ashes spread over her piece of Paradise Valley7.
Don’t you love a good backstory?
Susan Colaricci Sauls
Director of University Art Collections, University of Southern Indiana
1 McCutchan, Kenneth P. 2002. Art Collection Archive, University of Southern Indiana. Evansville, Indiana. 2 McCutchan 3 Haerr, Debbie. 1979. "Local artist's work to be shown." Daily Mail, May. Paragraph 4 Bureau of Land Management. 2020. "The Land Patents." Accessed July 14, 2020. https://thelandpatents.com. 5 Bureau of Land Management 6 Haerr Paragraph 7 McCutchan