Society of ozark painters

Founded in 1914 by Chicago artists Carl Kraftt and Rudolph Ingerle, the Society was dedicated to regional landscape painting of the Ozarks of south-central Missouri. Kraftt first visited the mountainous region in 1912. Painters were attracted there because they were enchanted by the dramatic landscape of the region and "the delicate color of its hazy atmosphere". The appeal of the Ozarks as a sanctuary increased with the turmoil of World War I, and many of the artists focused on scenes that contrasted with the ugliness of war. Kraftt painted there for more than two decades and referred to the region as his "cathedral of nature". (Kennedy 128) Sources: Elizabeth Kennedy, "Chicago Modern"Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"