Simon Paul Baus

(Sept. 4, 1882-Apr. 8, 1969). Born in Indianapolis, Baus studied under Otto Stark at Manual High School and was a student of William Forsyth and J. Ottis Adams at the Herron School of Art.

In 1914, Baus joined a group of central Indiana artists to paint decorative murals for the children’s ward of the Indianapolis City Hospital (later named Eskenazi Hospital). He is best-known, however, for his portraiture, having painted the likenesses of such prominent Hoosiers as U.S. Senator James E. Watson, Governor Emmett Forrest Branch, newspaperman Hilton U. Brown, and artists T. C. Steele and William Kaeser. Thirty-minute portrait demonstrations by Baus were popular attractions at public art events.

Baus exhibited and won prizes for his paintings at the annual Hoosier Salon, Art Association of Indianapolis, Indiana Artists Club, Art Association of Richmond, and Indiana State Fair juried competitions. His portraits are represented locally in the collections of the Indiana State Museum, the Indianapolis Art Center, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Baus was a charter member of the In Artists Club and held a membership in the Portfolio Club. A postal worker for 45 years, he retired in 1945.

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