Henry Keller (b.1869-d. 1949)

Henry Keller, faculty at the Cleveland School of Art from ab 1903-1945, gifted teacher and painter whether at the school or on excursions to the countryside or beaches by those who write or talk of his excellence. While guiding them he let students develop their individual talents encouraging them to "trap a convincing reality". Leader of the modernist movement here, his peers and students joined him at Berlin Heights, at the family owned farm (1903-14 or 06-15). Berlin Heights is just south of Vermillion, about 50 miles from Cleveland. He was known as the "father of Cleveland watercolor painting", someone who assigned students explorations of the countryside, beaches, and the environment around them. He exhibited at the Armory Show, a pivotal moment in the annals of art history for its presentation of European art and its influence on American art. He exhibited at the May Show of the Cleveland Museum of Art (31 times), at the Carnegie International Shows in Pittsburgh, annual shows at the Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and at the Whitney Museum of American Art.