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Myra Schuetter's remarkable paintings first came to our attention in the mid-1990s through the recommendation of the New York City art dealer Peter Tatistcheff, who represented the eminent still life watercolorist John Stuart Ingle, an Evansville, Indiana native. He told us that in nearby Jasper, Indiana we would find a gifted painter who had impressed him with her skills in watercolor. This prompted a call and soon I joined John Streetman, the Museum's Executive Director, and Les Miley, Evansville ceramicist and another admirer of Myra's work, for a trip to the Schuetter home and studio.
There we found a treasure trove of meticulously rendered still life paintings which included Old Glass and Cookbooks. We were delighted to purchase this piece for the Museum's permanent collection in 1998 through a generous gift from Margaret Emrich Sahler in memory of her parents Edith and Armand Emrich.
It remains a favorite of our visitors as part of the Museum's large and significant collection of contemporary American still life paintings.
In the years since our first introduction, our admiration for Myra's work has continued to grow. So too, has our friendship with "Team Schuetter." Myra's enthusiasm for her work and personal warmth draw people to genuine engagement when encountering her art. Her humor and generous spirit are the perfect match to her husband Wayne - the consummate partner who lends a hand to transport artwork, offers encouragement and an occasional title suggestion, and whose eves sparkle with joy when discussing Myra's techniques and newest paintings.
Myra's goal is, "to build a feast for your eyes. I want you, the viewer, to get caught up in the richness of detail, the play of light and textures and the intense color, and to never be disappointed in what you have looked more closely to see."
It is an honor to present this fifty-year retrospective which will inform the eyes and hearts of all those who see it.
Mary McNamee Bower
The John Streetman Executive Director Emerita
