Doris Vlasek Hails, of Woodburn and Westcott Contemporary Fine Art, passed away Nov. 17.
A Bohemian born in Chicago, she opened her gallery in the Murphy Building because Virginia Avenue reminded her of her childhood neighborhood. She trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago “at a time when professors taught the pictorial space of the Old Masters, before the era of marketing and artspeak,” she wrote in a letter to me.
She exhibited in Paris, France, had her first solo show at age 40 in Chicago and learned she could schmooze in a checkout lane at Marsh in the mid-’80s just after moving to Indianapolis. She authored art critiques and a farcical advice column, “Miss Advise,” for a local paper, taught at Herron in the early ’90s and painted compulsively her entire adult life, sometimes 12 hours a day for months on end.
In March of 1993 Doris lost her ego and, having been raised an atheist, found (or was found by) God through her TV on a Wednesday evening, for which her gratitude was immense. She enjoyed trees, animals (especially her cats), morning skies, seasons, opera and dispensing advice and encouragement to artists. She considered marrying Stanley Woodburn Hails one of her best decisions and believed that her purpose in life was to make art. Love and relationships were among the most important things she believed any of us could acquire on this planet.
In lieu of a wake, a retrospective of her artworks will take place at Woodburn and Westcott, located at 1043 Virginia Ave., Friday, Dec. 3, beginning at 5 p.m. 916-6062.
*Pictured is "Living Room," by Doris.
3 comments:
Doris was the greatest friend a person could have. I spent the last couple of years having an affair of the heart with her. She will always be one of the great loves of my life. I miss her terribly and am happy that people still remember her as fondly as I. She had more spunk than most and always spoke the truth. Always. I had the pleasure of being her private chef and her my personal artist. The impression that she left on those around her is remarkable, she insisted that you remember her. Steve Graham -Indy's Gourmet To Go
Stan has recently passed away as well. More to come.
I was painting in Fountain Square's "Masterpiece In a Day" art contest when I took a stroll to see what others had painted. When I came back to my easel there was a business card from the Woodburn & Westcott Contemporary Fine Art Gallery with a note stating she would be interested in seeing more of my work. I continued painting thinking about going in to her gallery, but not knowing whether or not it was someone playing a joke on me. I was a very young artist never having shown my work other than in class exhibits. I was not confident in my work and I thought there was no way the best gallery in the Murphy Building wanted my work. She came out a little later and introduced herself. We spoke for a short time. She said she had been admiring me and my painting from her window and that she liked how I held a cigarette in my mouth while painting, that it had reminded her of herself as a young painter. Well, I did not go in immediately with my work to see her. In fact it took over a year for me to build up my confidence to step foot in the gallery. But when I did, She exclaimed "Avery Dellinger! What has taken you so long to come in here?" I had only met her one day and spoke with her for less than 5 minutes. I had waited over a year and yet she remembered me upon entering the gallery. It cemented in my mind that I was something of value in the art world. Doris made me feel like I was something. She gave me confidence. Here I was, hearing the same things about my work that my own Mother would say to me, but this was a gallery owner, someone who knew art and what was good. She signed me on to her and Stan's gallery. She told me I was the youngest artist she had and that it was deserved. There was a real teacher/student relationship between us and I always felt she was strictly honest with me. We sold some art and had a lot of conversations about it. She really groomed me to be an artist. Unfortunately her admiration of my smoking and her ability to relate to it was what took her life. I quit smoking during her struggled end. She was happy about that. I still have some iris bulbs she gave me that bloom every year. They are a great reminder of her. I miss you Doris.
Avery Dellinger
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