Musings • August 2025

Now Extended Through September 11

Due to popularity with our visitors, Vin’s Farm Scenes, in the Robert Cain Gallery has been extended through September 11, 2025. Plan your upcoming visit to see a selection of Vin Hannell's historical farm-focused artworks.

In the decade after he moved to Porter County in 1930, Vin Hannell (1896-1964) documented the local barnyards and farm animals with imaginative and dramatic effect. This exhibition of artwork comes from the private collection of John Cain and complements our featured exhibit, Life Work: The Artists Hazel & Vin Hannell.

READ SERENA ARD’S ARTICLE ABOUT HAZEL & VIN HANNELL

P.S.—Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 9, from 10a to 2p, when living history interpreters will bring a variety of historical trades to life on the southeast lawn of the Porter County Courthouse (across from the PoCo Muse). Don’t miss this interactive and family-friendly outdoor program!

WHAT TO DO

Living History: Historical Trades

Saturday, August 9, 10a-2p

Southeast lawn of the Porter County Courthouse (Across the street from the PoCo Muse, 20 Indiana Avenue)

No RSVP Required

Reception for Hazel Hannell: Artful Aging

Sunday, August 10, 2-4p

The Village Gallery at Pines Village, 3303 Pines Village Circle, Valparaiso, IN 46383

Guided Tours of Life Work & Vin’s Farm Scenes

Saturday, August 2, 9, 16, 23, & 30, at 2p

PoCo Muse, 20 Indiana Avenue

No RSVP Required

VIEW THE CURRENT ISSUE OF MUSE NEWS

WHAT TO SEE

Life Work: The Artists Hazel & Vin Hannell

Through October 26, 2025

Life Work traces the artistic journeys of Hazel and Vin Hannell, from early life to their move to Porter County’s Furnessville and beyond. Known for their passion, generosity, and versatility across media—sculpture, drawing, painting, printmaking, and pottery—the Hannells became iconic regional artists of the mid-twentieth century.

This exhibition is part of a year-long community collaboration celebrating their legacy, with events hosted by the Art Barn School of Art, Chesterton Art Center, Pines Village Retirement Communities, and the Westchester Township History Museum.

Eunice Slagle & Montague/Urschel Galleries

Vin’s Farm Scenes

Through September 11, 2025

In the decade after he moved to Porter County in 1930, Vin Hannell documented the local barnyards and farm animals with imaginative and dramatic effect. The modernist sensibility he learned in Chicago was still fresh during this period, and his unique perspective helps transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Robert Cain Gallery

Lowenstine WWII Roll of Honor

The Lowenstine WWII Roll of Honor was displayed on the courthouse square from 1943 until 1973 in commemoration of the Valparaiso citizens who contributed to the war effort during World War II. It was installed in the PoCo Muse in December 2022.

MORE TO EXPLORE

Muse News: July through September 2025

Stay up-to-date with all that’s happening at the PoCo Muse by checking out our most recent newsletter, Muse News.

PoCo Muse Magazine: Issue No. 9

The digital version PoCo Muse Magazine is free to read for everyone. This issue shares additional stories about the rise and fall of the Valparaiso & Northern (V&N), an electric interurban line which operated in Porter County between 1910 and 1938.

Looking Back: August 1925

Each day on social media, the PoCo Muse looks back by featuring century-old historical excerpts selected from the Evening Messenger and Valparaiso Daily Vidette newspapers.

At the Intersection of Art & History

The 25-minute video slideshow called "At the Intersection of Art & History" presents highlights from our permanent art collection and spotlights a few common themes found in the artworks.

“Untitled (Farm Scene with Cow),” by Vinol Hannell, 1932, on loan from John Cain; a living history reenactor demonstrates a historical trade in August 2024, Albert Photographic, 2024; a late watercolor by Hazel Hannell from The Village Gallery at Pines Village; “Section Gang,” by Vinol Hannell, 1939, on loan from The Village Gallery at Pines Village; “Untitled,” by Vinol Hannell, 1940, on loan from John Cain; two unidentified men sitting on the courthouse square with a view of the Lowenstine WWII Roll of Honor in the background, circa 1968.