William Ade

The Artworks of Luethel Davis Ade William Ade

LuEthel began her oil paintings later in her life after having done quite a bit of traveling, particularly to the larger cities to see Broadway plays and musicals, in which she had a lifelong interest. It is conceivable that she saw quite a few of the impressionists' paintings during these trips, sensed a kinship to the unconventionality of them, and determined to give it a try herself. She worked both on her own and with an instructor at the Fountain Park art studio. This may explain the variety in her work; for example, Zinnias, which seems to have a lesser quality even though it is dated as having been executed after more cohesive works, may have been a class project restricted by limited time.

As an artist, LuEthel clearly followed the impressionistic style. She worked out of doors on the majority of her landscapes, using bold unblended strokes. She embraced the myriad of colors found in shadows and playing across fields. Certain works, such as Broken Dune by Lake Michigan, show the flatter, slightly abstract influence of Japanese prints popular at the time. Her paintings are overall vivid and romantic expressions of the land she grew up loving.