Roda E. Selleck (September 6, 1848 – November 15, 1924) was an American painter and art instructor. A native of Utica,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, Selleck studied at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

and with Denman W. Ross at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

; she also spent time at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

, and

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, She began her career as an educator teaching at the State Normal School in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

, later becoming a supervisor; in 1881, she began teaching English and Latin in

Indianapolis Public Schools Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) is the largest school district in Indianapolis, and the second largest school district in the state of Indiana as of 2021, behind Fort Wayne Community Schools. The district's headquarters are in the John Mort ...

. She was soon assigned to teach art at

Indianapolis High School Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Shortridge is the home of the International Baccalaureate and arts and humanities programs of the Indianapolis Public Schools district (IPS). Origina ...

, later renamed Shortridge High School, where she remained until her death in 1924. Though hired to teach drawing, she also instructed her students in the use of charcoal and watercolor, and also provided them with a grounding in art history and art appreciation. By the 1890s, she had won recognition for introducing "craftwork" – leather, pottery, jewelry, and metalwork – into the curriculum. She taught pottery at the

John Herron Art Institute Herron School of Art and Design, officially IU Herron School of Art and Design, is a public university, public art school at Indiana University Indianapolis, Indiana University–Indianapolis (IUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a professional ar ...

from 1915 until 1916, and developed a line of pottery, Selridge Pottery, marked "SP" and produced by pupils at the high school. So dedicated was she to ceramic work that she often remained at the school until the early morning hours minding the kiln. For 10 years, Selleck taught at the Herron Art Institute's summer school at

Winona Lake, Indiana Winona Lake is a town in Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and the major suburb of Warsaw. Its population was 4,908 at the 2010 census. Geography Winona Lake is now contiguous to Warsaw, the two towns having merged ...

; she later collaborated with the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

to develop a public-school art curriculum, and she spent some time on the board of the directors of the Herron Art Institute. She was a leader in the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

in Indianapolis, and was instrumental in causing Indiana to become the first state to have a standardized art exhibition at its state fair. Upon her death, an art gallery in the Shortridge High School building was dedicated her honor; it remained in place until the building was converted for use as a junior high school. Among Selleck's pupils included artists Janet Payne Bowles and

Ada Walter Shulz Ada Walter Shulz (October 21, 1870 – May 2, 1928) was an American painter, whose Impressionistic painting style primarily featured themes of mothers, children, and barnyard animals. Her paintings won awards at the Art Institute of Chicago in 19 ...

. She is buried in the Utica Cemetery in her hometown.

References

1848 births 1924 deaths People from Utica, Michigan Artists from Indianapolis Painters from Michigan Painters from Indiana 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists American potters American women potters American women ceramists 19th-century American educators 20th-century American educators Educators from Michigan Educators from Indiana Syracuse University alumni Harvard University alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Purdue University alumni Herron School of Art and Design faculty 20th-century American ceramists 19th-century American women educators 20th-century American women educators Ceramists from Indiana Ceramists from Michigan 19th-century American women painters {{US-painter-1840s-stub