The Ohio Arts Council's Riffe Gallery presented The Spirit of Cleveland: Visual Arts Recipients of the Cleveland Arts Prize 1961-1995 from May 9 through July 27, 1996. The Spirit of Cleveland, organized by the Cleveland Institute of Art and curated by Dennison W. Griffith, surveys the work of painters, sculptors, craftspersons and designers who have been honored for their distinguished careers in the visual arts.

The exhibition celebrates the depth, vitality and contributions of 34 artists whose accomplishments have warranted bestowal of the prestigious Cleveland Arts Prize. This prize, awarded annually, is sponsored by the Women's City Club of Cleveland and the Cleveland Women's City Club Foundation.

Organized as a precursor to the 1996 Cleveland Bicentennial celebrations, the exhibition includes work by painters such as Richard Anuszkiewicz, Clarence Carter and John Pearson; craftspersons Toshiko Takaezu, Judith Salomon, and Lilian Tyrrell; sculptors such as David Davis, Athena Tacha and La Wilson; and jewelry designer John Paul Miller. The exhibition offers viewers a survey of the depth and power of the Cleveland area's most influential, innovative and widely-recognized artists, selected from 1961 (the first year of the prize) through the present.

Accompanying the exhibition is a 48-page color catalog featuring reproductions of the artists' work, as well as essays by artist, collector and critic Michael D. Hall, and curator Dennison W. Griffith, deputy director of the Columbus Musuem of Art.

The show premiered in September 1995 at the Cleveland Institute of Art and will travel next to the Beck Center for Cultural Arts in Lakewood.

The exhibition has been organized by the Cleveland Institute of Art, and supported by The Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland Institute of Art, Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, Ms. Agnes Gund, The George Gund Foundation, Nesnadny + Schwartz, Nissan Design International and the Ohio Arts Council with the support of the Ohio Building Authority.

The Riffe Gallery, operated by the Ohio Arts Council, showcases the work of Ohio's artists and the collections of the state's museums and galleries. The Riffe Gallery is located in the Vern Riffe Center for the Government and the Arts, State and High Streets, Columbus, OH. Gallery hours are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Thursday and Friday 11a.m.-7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 12 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free. For information or to schedule a tour call the Riffe Gallery at 614/644-9624.

The Ohio Arts Council, a state agency established in 1965, is committed to the economic, educational and cultural development of the state. The Council believes the arts should be shared by the people of Ohio. The arts arise from public, individual and organizational efforts. The OAC supports and encourages those efforts.

Visual Arts Recipients of the Cleveland Arts Prize 1961-1995


• 1961 John Paul Miller, Goldsmith
• 1962 Toshiko Takaezu, Ceramist
• 1963 Kenneth Bates, Enamelist
• 1964 William McVey, Sculptor
• 1965 Paul Travis, Painter
• 1966 Edward Mieczkowski, Painter
• 1967 John Clague, Sculptor
• 1968 Frederick A. Miller, Silversmith
• 1969 Julian Stanczak, Painter
• 1970 Joseph McCullough, Painter
• 1971 H.C. Cassill, Printmaker
• 1972 Clarence H. Carter, Painter
• 1973 Viktor Schreckengost, Industrial Designer and Painter
• 1974 Joseph B. O'Sickey, Painter
• 1975 John Pearson, Painter
• *1977 Richard Anuszkiewicz, Painter
• 1978 Ralph Woehrman, Painter/Printmaker
• 1979 Hugh Kepets, Painter
• 1980 David E. Davis, Sculptor
• 1981 Athena Tacha, Sculptor
• 1982 Phyllis Sloane, Painter/Printmaker
• 1983 Claude Conover, Ceramist
• 1984 Wenda F. von Weise, Quilted Tapestry Maker
• 1985 Moe Brooker, Painter
• 1986 Shirley Aley Campbell, Painter
• 1987 Brent Kee Young, Glass Artist
• 1988 Kenneth Nevadomi, Painter
• 1989 Carl Floyd, Sculptor
• 1990 Judith Salomon, Ceramist
• 1991 Don Harvey, Sculptor
• 1992 Lilian Tyrrell, Weaver
• 1993 La Wilson, Sculptor
• 1994 Masumi Hayashi, Photographer
• 1995 John Moore, Painter

*There was no award in 1976

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