Betty Stuart
Sander, artist, scholar, musician, hippie den mother, organic farmer, lover
of the shaggy, inspiration to many, 1925-2014.
The daughter of
James E. and Bethel Beery Stuart, of Cincinnati, Ohio, Betty died November
18, 2014, in Portland, Oregon. She was preceded in death by her husband,
David Sander in 1998 and is survived by her daughters Sidney Smith and
Stuart Sander of Portland, Oregon, and Shaw Sander of Tucson, Arizona.
She attended
Oberlin College from 1943-1945, and the University of Chicago, receiving her
MA in 1951 in classical Greek and Latin. She also attended the Ox-Bow Summer
School of Painting of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1962-1964.
Betty Sander was a
well-known and loved artist, exhibiting her work extensively in Indiana and
the Chicago area. She participated in many juried shows, including the
Chicago and Vicinity Show at the Art Institute, the Indiana Artists Show at
the Indianapolis Museum of Fine Arts and the Art Barn in Valparaiso,
Indiana. She was an organizer of the Chesterton Art Fair in Chesterton,
Indiana, from 1961-1963 and the Lincoln Avenue Festival of the Arts, Chicago
from 1977-1983.
She had numerous
solo shows at Chicago area galleries such as Gallery I at Mundelein College
and the Body Politic Lobby Gallery, as well as the South Bend, Indiana Art
Center Gallery.
Mrs. Sander lived
much of her adult life in northern Indiana and with David owned the
Saturday's Child coffee house in Porter, Indiana in the 1960's and early
1970's. She would travel to Bloomington, Indiana to hear the latest
musicians playing in the local clubs, picking favorites to come play for a
weekend at the coffeehouse up north. The couple, then in their 40's, housed
the musicians for the weekend at their farm. She recalled many late evenings
going to bed to the sounds of the musicians and their entourages “jamming”
in the living room late into the night. When she'd awaken the next morning,
sleeping people would, in her words, “festoon the living room, making
perfect subjects for my still life drawings.”
She and David were
politically active, hosting SDS, Rising Up Angry, the Weather Underground
and other politically radical gatherings at their farm near Chesterton. She
would often remember with pride that the FBI kept watch on the comings and
goings at the farm.
Sander moved to
Bloomington, Indiana, in 1984 and exhibited her work extensively at the
Bellevue Gallery and the Bloomington Art Fair on the Square. From 1990-1994
she was Treasurer of the Bellevue Gallery, Bloomington, and from 1985-1994
was Coordinator of the Life Drawing Co-op, Bloomington. Betty played Dobro
guitar at the Runcible Spoon Cafe and was a deejay at WQAX, a community
radio station that preceded today's WFHB.
Her work is
available for viewing and purchase at bettysanderartist.com. There are
Facebook pages for both Betty Sander Artist and Saturday's Child
coffeehouse.
A memorial service
will be held August 8, 2015, in Chesterton/Porter. Further information will
be available soon on the Betty Sander Artist Facebook page or email
sssstuart@aol.com