A small town in Indiana is an unlikely destination for design and art lovers.
New Harmony, a small town perched on the Wabash river in southwest Indiana, is a very unlikely destination for design lovers. But those who make the trip — two hours drive from both Louisville, KY and St. Louis, MO and three hours from Indianapolis, IN and Nashville, TN – will not be disappointed. This rural town of about 800 people, many of whom get around via golf cart, boasts buildings by Philip Johnson and Richard Meier, public art by French sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, Anglo-German sculptor Ralph Beyer and American sculptor Don Gummer, and a park designed by a firm best known for their work on MoMA’s sculpture garden.
This is all thanks to Jane Blaffer Owen, an oil heiress from Houston (her father was one of the founders of a company that’s now ExxonMobil and her grandfather established the company that ultimately became Texaco), whose husband, Kenneth Dale Owen was a descendent of New Harmony’s founders. Soon after they were married, Kenneth brought his new bride to his home town; she fell in love with New Harmony and dedicated her life to its preservation and revitalization, earning many many accolades along the way, including Commander of the British Empire, bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II.
It seems random but isn’t: Jane’s mother, Sarah Campbell Blaffer, was a passionate art lover and collector whose eponymous foundation debuted in 1964 with the mission of “sharing great works of art with people in communities far from major art museums.” The family were long-time supporters of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and, in 1947, Sarah established the Robert Lee Blaffer foundation at the museum, in honor of her late husband (Jane’s father). A few years later, Jane’s brother John, and his wife Camilla, made a large contribution to the museum which resulted in the construction of the Robert Lee Blaffer Memorial Wing.
