Douglas Alley
2019.27.01
Notes: The painting was given by the Corlett family to the SDHC prior to 2005. No paperwork available. Status: OK Status By: Mary Voss Status Date: 2019-08-19
08/19/2019
12/23/2023
Watercolor
Text that accompanied painting in 2008 "13 Moments in Time" exhibit portfolio: Douglas Backyards 11 of 13 Helen Corlett Watercolor, ca 1963 In a town full of artists all corners of the area are eventually committed to canvas - even the backyards and alleys. Each spring and fall Helen Corlett invited her friends from Chicago for a week-long painting session. They seemed to specialize in behind-the-scenes views. This painting is a view of a series of backyards in Douglas running behind the stores on the north side of Center Street and opening onto an alley. The perspective is looking west from Main Street. Helen Ehrman (1893-1978) was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and first visited the Douglas lakeshore in 1899 as a young child. In 1917 she was married to Webster David Corlett and the couple eventually owned three houses on Lakeshore Drive in a compound called "Ballakeyll," Manx for "Five Acre Farm." She took classes throughout her life, both at Ox-Bow and in Chicago. Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society Collection, gift of Ruth Corlett
Artworks
Voss, Mary
Corlett, Helen Katherine (Ehrman) 1893-1978
Artist
1940 - 1950
Saugatuck, Michigan (geographic place)
Painting
Art
Category 08: Communication Objects
PaintingDouglas Alley watercolor painting
13 in
20 in
Art Conservation Room
Good
Corlett, Helen Katherine (Ehrman) 1893-1978
Curator’s Choice Exhibit
Helen E. Corlett 1891 – 1971 Alley, Douglas, MI undated | watercolor on paper Notes: Helen Corlett first visited the Saugatuck Douglas area with her parents at the age of six. The Chicago family originally stayed in a boarding house on Lake Shore Drive. Later, the Corletts bought that house which still remains in the family. Helen studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. As an adult, Helen would come for long weekends and host “painting parties” for her artist friends. She was a member of the Saugatuck Art Club and also studied at Ox-Bow. Regentrification in Douglas is a recent phenomenon. This scene shows the alley just north of Center Street, looking west from Main Street. Collection: Saugatuck Douglas History Center Gift of: The Corlett Family Accession: 2019.27.01