Our Mission Statement
To promote and appreciate the Visual and Performing Arts in Union County and surrounding areas, while preserving the legacy and preservation of the Historical Houston House.
Our Motto
"Where History & Art equal Creativity, Enthusiasm and Entertainment"
Our Contact Information
Marysville Art League
264 West 5th Street
PO Box 44
Marysville, Ohio 43040
www.marysvilleartleague.org
Email: info@marysvilleartleague.org
264 West 5th Street
PO Box 44
Marysville, Ohio 43040
www.marysvilleartleague.org
Email: info@marysvilleartleague.org
Where are we located? Map
The Historical Houston House is home to the Marysville Art League, it is located at
264 W. Fifth St., in historic uptown Marysville, Ohio.
264 W. Fifth St., in historic uptown Marysville, Ohio.
History of the Marysville Art League
The Marysville Art League was established in 1979 by a group of local artists from Union County. They began meeting in the artists' homes and the Marysville Public Library, until 1982 when they purchased the historical Houston House. The original members went to work raising funds to purchase the vacant home. The house was in need of many repairs, the members with great pride did the much needed renovations. They held their meetings, Sunday luncheons, art exhibits and classes in the beautiful home. In the early 90's they added the Pottery Barn, now known as the Edith Dyer Art Room.
Through the years the MAL has been a thriving organization, thanks to many of those original members. They left the legacy of the Marysville Art League and the historical Houston House for future generations to enjoy. Without their hard work and dedication, it would not be here for our community today.
In the spring of 2015 members of the original art league were recognized for their dedication and contributions throughout the years. Without them, the Marysville Art League and the historical Houston House may not have survived.
Edith Dyer was one of the founding members, served as president and a teacher. Edith was best know for her fundraising abilities. She was the one who convinced the organization to buy the home. She was the one who was inspirational in getting the new art room built, we now enjoy today. Four of her original paintings hang in the Houston House today.
The Dackin family were also huge contributors to the MAL. Gerry served as the treasurer for many years. He and his wife were very active. The new kitchen as we know it was due to their kind contribution. They donated the cabinets, all the appliances for the kitchen and the air conditioning in the main house. Those generous gifts are still enjoyed during our daily operations.
Marilyn Shearer was one of the MAL's most supportive members, she served in many leadership roles throughout the years. Until her health failed in 2011, she had overseen all the activities and rentals. Marilyn was very generous to the art league. The Parlor is dedicated in her memory, as well as the wheelchair ramp which would have enabled her to stay active. Her dream of a wheel chair ramp became reality in 2014. This enables the MAL to better serve the community.
Please let us know anyone you would like to nominate from the past who was a founder, inspiration, contributor or dedicated member who made a difference to the history on the Marysville Art League. Please share anything about the history with us. Send to info@marysvilleartleague.org
Through the years the MAL has been a thriving organization, thanks to many of those original members. They left the legacy of the Marysville Art League and the historical Houston House for future generations to enjoy. Without their hard work and dedication, it would not be here for our community today.
In the spring of 2015 members of the original art league were recognized for their dedication and contributions throughout the years. Without them, the Marysville Art League and the historical Houston House may not have survived.
Edith Dyer was one of the founding members, served as president and a teacher. Edith was best know for her fundraising abilities. She was the one who convinced the organization to buy the home. She was the one who was inspirational in getting the new art room built, we now enjoy today. Four of her original paintings hang in the Houston House today.
The Dackin family were also huge contributors to the MAL. Gerry served as the treasurer for many years. He and his wife were very active. The new kitchen as we know it was due to their kind contribution. They donated the cabinets, all the appliances for the kitchen and the air conditioning in the main house. Those generous gifts are still enjoyed during our daily operations.
Marilyn Shearer was one of the MAL's most supportive members, she served in many leadership roles throughout the years. Until her health failed in 2011, she had overseen all the activities and rentals. Marilyn was very generous to the art league. The Parlor is dedicated in her memory, as well as the wheelchair ramp which would have enabled her to stay active. Her dream of a wheel chair ramp became reality in 2014. This enables the MAL to better serve the community.
Please let us know anyone you would like to nominate from the past who was a founder, inspiration, contributor or dedicated member who made a difference to the history on the Marysville Art League. Please share anything about the history with us. Send to info@marysvilleartleague.org
The Historical Houston House History Outline
Houston House History Outline:
1. The Houston House was built in 1872 by Christopher Houston (1829-1892)
He was born in Ireland and came to America in 1850
He was a Mason of the Palestine Lodge, engaged in the grocery business
and was active in Republican political affairs.
He married Hannah Sabine (1837-1926) on March 26, 1861.
She organized Women’s Parliament in 1890 and it is still active today in Marysville
She was the First Matron of the Eastern Star in Marysville
Christopher and Hannah had four children.
o Alexander (1/3/1862-1939) 77 years old
o Archibald (5/12/1863-1908) –killed at the age of 45 by a thug in San Francisco, CA.
o Frederick King (3/28/1866-1949) 83 years old
o Christine (4/14/1871-1947) 76 years old
Christopher built the Houston block on the Southwest corner of Marysville Square in 1870.
Christopher and Hannah are buried in Oakdale Cemetery.
o From East to West – Clements, Sabines, Houstons
o The rose granite tombstone came from Scotland.
2. The last family member to live in the house was Grace Houston Biamonte (1885-1979),
the daughter of Alexander and grand daughter of Christopher and Hannah.
Grace married Francesco Biamonte in 1939 and he died in 1955.
She purchased the home from the estate of her Uncle Frederick.
She was a talented artist and many of her paintings are around Marysville today.
3. The Marysville Art League acquired the Houston House in December 1982.
They have restored the house to its present condition, thus saving a fast deteriorating historic home
that goes back to when Marysville had less than five hundred people living there.
This non-profit organization keeps the arts alive providing lessons, classes, camps, art shows and special events.
Bits of History about the Marysville Art League
Grace Houston Biamonte
Grace Houston Biamonte was the last Houston to live in the family home. Grace lived in the house until 1978. Many of Grace's original painting are still on display at the Houston House. It's unclear how the art league gained possession of so many of her beautiful pieces. Many of the founding members of the art league were friends with Grace. They were also in Garden Club with her and were regular guests at her home. Biamonte attended Ohio State University and became a professor of art in Pennsylvania.
Grace Houston Biamonte was the last Houston to live in the family home. Grace lived in the house until 1978. Many of Grace's original painting are still on display at the Houston House. It's unclear how the art league gained possession of so many of her beautiful pieces. Many of the founding members of the art league were friends with Grace. They were also in Garden Club with her and were regular guests at her home. Biamonte attended Ohio State University and became a professor of art in Pennsylvania.
Original Art by Mr. Eugene Snively on display at the historical Houston House
Fashion designer 'Mr. Eugene' Snively
If Mr. Eugene's life story sounds a little bit like Hollywood, that's because it is.
Growing up in a small Ohio town (Broadway), he left there on the spur of a moment one day when he was 21 to pursue a dream of art and fashion in Tinsel Town.
Fifty-nine years later, after a career that included proximity to the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Olivia DeHavilland, he lives in semi-retirement in Pleasant Valley, teaching senior art classes, continuing to paint (his works appear at Back Pages Antiques at 21st Street and Highway 24), and (most recently) inking the Territory Days cover photo for this issue of the Westside Pioneer.
Other than formal matters, he no longer goes by his full name, preferring “Mr. Eugene” or simply “Eugene.“ But Eugene Snively was how he grew up in the small town of Broadway, Ohio. He always liked to draw, studied fashion as a hobby, and by seventh grade, taking night art classes with adults, he had already sold his first painting.
Meanwhile, he chuckled in a recent interview, he kept telling people that someday he'd make it in Hollywood, “but nobody believed me,” until one wintry day in Columbus, Ohio, “'they said it's, snowing, this is a good time; when are you going to leave?' I said, '4:30 p.m.'”
He meant it. When that time of the day rolled around, he boarded a bus to Hollywood, leaving his old life behind. “I decided now was the day to go,” Eugene said, simply.
He couldn't have planned the outcome much better. Within two days in southern California, using his experience as a window decorator at a department store in Columbus, he found a job at the J.W. Robinson department store. This led him to fashion-design opportunities within the store, and eventually to helping at MGM and Paramount studios with luminaries such as Helen Rose, Edith Head and Howard Greer, whose names can be found in the Internet movie database (imdb.com) in connection with dozens of movies.
Stories abound. During filming for an early '50s movie, Ginger Rogers found a cotton dress uncomfortable. Eugene said he told her to put it in a dryer with a damp towel to make it feel soft. On another occasion, studio officials had him take Elizabeth Taylor to lunch to cool her down after a snit about a belt she was supposed to wear. “I remember thinking, 'I'm 24 years old, I'm taking Elizabeth Taylor to lunch and getting paid for it,'” Eugene laughed.
Then there was the time when, on the set of “Some Like It Hot,” he was asked to do pencil sketches of Marilyn Monroe. Looking at how he was portraying her, he recalled, “She punched me on the arm and said, 'You make me look nice.' I said, 'That's not hard, Miss Monroe.'”
But by the late 1960s, life in Hollywood had ceased being as much fun for Eugene. Working with studios had gotten more complicated, and “I wanted to change my whole lifestyle,” he said. “I didn't need the glamour anymore.”
So in 1969 he moved to Colorado Springs, about which he had heard good reports, finding his time-honored department store employment (decorating windows and handling fashion for Neusteter's downtown). He met his wife Lola, and they bought their home in Pleasant Valley in the early '70s.
It was around 1955 that Eugene began a series of drawings/paintings that continue to this day. Each portrays an attractive woman, wearing clothes that reflect his knowledge of fashion history, and each has the title, “One of the Girls.” His work in this issue of the Pioneer, showing a flamboyant woman dressed in a style of the 1800s Old West, bears that title as well.
Snively, better known to his fans as “Mr. Eugene,” died May 21, 2012. He was 84.
The artist and fashion designer, a 43-year resident of Colorado Springs, is survived by his wife, Lola Snively, two daughters, Heidi R. Rickard and Greta N. Miller, and three grandchildren.
Snively, the youngest of 12, was born April 27, 1928, in Broadway, Ohio. A religious man, he moved to Colorado Springs in 1969 to attend Nazarene Bible College. It was not long after that he met his wife, Lola (Fields) Snively.
Before his transition to a more settled family life, Snively worked in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s, where he created clothes for stars such as Angela Lansbury and Elizabeth Taylor, and he continued to exercise those artistic skills long after leaving Hollywood’s glitz and glamour for Colorado Springs.
The models and actresses who had surrounded him in Hollywood served as the inspiration for the women that he drew and painted throughout his career.
Snively referred to them as his “girls,” and they were the constant subject of his paintings and drawings. However, he was given to drawing the women in front of him as well, particularly at parties around town, where he often dashed off fashion sketches of other guests.
Later in life, Snively expanded his field of work beyond producing art when he began to teach drawing to Alzheimer’s patients. He also used his skills to help with other local fundraising efforts.
*The Houston House contains original artwork by Mr. Eugene Snively.
If Mr. Eugene's life story sounds a little bit like Hollywood, that's because it is.
Growing up in a small Ohio town (Broadway), he left there on the spur of a moment one day when he was 21 to pursue a dream of art and fashion in Tinsel Town.
Fifty-nine years later, after a career that included proximity to the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Olivia DeHavilland, he lives in semi-retirement in Pleasant Valley, teaching senior art classes, continuing to paint (his works appear at Back Pages Antiques at 21st Street and Highway 24), and (most recently) inking the Territory Days cover photo for this issue of the Westside Pioneer.
Other than formal matters, he no longer goes by his full name, preferring “Mr. Eugene” or simply “Eugene.“ But Eugene Snively was how he grew up in the small town of Broadway, Ohio. He always liked to draw, studied fashion as a hobby, and by seventh grade, taking night art classes with adults, he had already sold his first painting.
Meanwhile, he chuckled in a recent interview, he kept telling people that someday he'd make it in Hollywood, “but nobody believed me,” until one wintry day in Columbus, Ohio, “'they said it's, snowing, this is a good time; when are you going to leave?' I said, '4:30 p.m.'”
He meant it. When that time of the day rolled around, he boarded a bus to Hollywood, leaving his old life behind. “I decided now was the day to go,” Eugene said, simply.
He couldn't have planned the outcome much better. Within two days in southern California, using his experience as a window decorator at a department store in Columbus, he found a job at the J.W. Robinson department store. This led him to fashion-design opportunities within the store, and eventually to helping at MGM and Paramount studios with luminaries such as Helen Rose, Edith Head and Howard Greer, whose names can be found in the Internet movie database (imdb.com) in connection with dozens of movies.
Stories abound. During filming for an early '50s movie, Ginger Rogers found a cotton dress uncomfortable. Eugene said he told her to put it in a dryer with a damp towel to make it feel soft. On another occasion, studio officials had him take Elizabeth Taylor to lunch to cool her down after a snit about a belt she was supposed to wear. “I remember thinking, 'I'm 24 years old, I'm taking Elizabeth Taylor to lunch and getting paid for it,'” Eugene laughed.
Then there was the time when, on the set of “Some Like It Hot,” he was asked to do pencil sketches of Marilyn Monroe. Looking at how he was portraying her, he recalled, “She punched me on the arm and said, 'You make me look nice.' I said, 'That's not hard, Miss Monroe.'”
But by the late 1960s, life in Hollywood had ceased being as much fun for Eugene. Working with studios had gotten more complicated, and “I wanted to change my whole lifestyle,” he said. “I didn't need the glamour anymore.”
So in 1969 he moved to Colorado Springs, about which he had heard good reports, finding his time-honored department store employment (decorating windows and handling fashion for Neusteter's downtown). He met his wife Lola, and they bought their home in Pleasant Valley in the early '70s.
It was around 1955 that Eugene began a series of drawings/paintings that continue to this day. Each portrays an attractive woman, wearing clothes that reflect his knowledge of fashion history, and each has the title, “One of the Girls.” His work in this issue of the Pioneer, showing a flamboyant woman dressed in a style of the 1800s Old West, bears that title as well.
Snively, better known to his fans as “Mr. Eugene,” died May 21, 2012. He was 84.
The artist and fashion designer, a 43-year resident of Colorado Springs, is survived by his wife, Lola Snively, two daughters, Heidi R. Rickard and Greta N. Miller, and three grandchildren.
Snively, the youngest of 12, was born April 27, 1928, in Broadway, Ohio. A religious man, he moved to Colorado Springs in 1969 to attend Nazarene Bible College. It was not long after that he met his wife, Lola (Fields) Snively.
Before his transition to a more settled family life, Snively worked in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s, where he created clothes for stars such as Angela Lansbury and Elizabeth Taylor, and he continued to exercise those artistic skills long after leaving Hollywood’s glitz and glamour for Colorado Springs.
The models and actresses who had surrounded him in Hollywood served as the inspiration for the women that he drew and painted throughout his career.
Snively referred to them as his “girls,” and they were the constant subject of his paintings and drawings. However, he was given to drawing the women in front of him as well, particularly at parties around town, where he often dashed off fashion sketches of other guests.
Later in life, Snively expanded his field of work beyond producing art when he began to teach drawing to Alzheimer’s patients. He also used his skills to help with other local fundraising efforts.
*The Houston House contains original artwork by Mr. Eugene Snively.
"This Week" Article from 2012 Change of Leadership
The Marysville Art League is putting new effort into making a 140-year-old home on West Fifth Street the focus of the arts in the community.
"Art is what you feel. Art is when it comes from your heart," said Kim Heminger, Marysville Arts League president. "Anything that you're creating is a part of you and that's important."
When the past league president resigned, members of the Marysville Art League board were looking for ways to save the house and generate income.
"They were kind of distraught because the old president wanted to give the house to United Way and they didn't want that to happen," Heminger said.
Heminger began revamping the house about a month ago with paint, elbow grease, and a new approach to keeping the arts alive in Marysville.
"My new motto is history and art equal creativity, enthusiasm and entertainment," she said.
According to Heminger, the house, also known as the Houston House, was built by Christopher Houston in 1872. He came to America from Ireland in 1850 and settled in Marysville two years later when fewer than 500 people lived in the community.
A grocer and bank founder, Houston and his wife, Hannah, were both interested in the arts, Heminger said. The house passed on to their son, Frederick Houston, and then to Frederick's niece, Grace Houston Biamonte. She bought the home when Frederick died in 1949.
Heminger said Biamonte was an artist and several of her paintings hang throughout the home.
Biamonte attended Ohio State University and became a professor of art in Pennsylvania. A picture of her hangs in the foyer.
"Some of the original members of the Marysville Art League were actually friends with her and in a garden club with her," Heminger said.
In 1982, the Marysville Art League purchased the house for $54,000. Once the mortgage was paid off, the League built a back room that now serves as a work area and space for art classes.
"We would like to get life back in it and have art classes and performing arts and different things going on," Heminger said. "We want to start the art partnership up again."
The house is also available to rent for meetings, birthday parties and bridal or baby showers.
Some repairs are still needed, Heminger said. A new roof was put on in 2010 but one upstairs room still bears the damage caused by the previously leaky roof.
Heminger wants to start a "Save the Soffit" campaign, as well as add new sidewalks and a driveway.
Many artists are featured throughout the house, including Hollywood fashion designer and Ohio native, Eugene Snively.
Contemporary local artist Dante Camerlengo has six paintings in the house and is excited about the future of the structure.
. "Art needs to be brought back to Marysville," Camerlengo said. "With all the new media, it's dying out. I'm glad to see something's happening with it."
Membership fees range from $15 to $100 and allow members to rent the home or take classes.
"Were trying to get people to adopt rooms and then we will eventually name all of them after someone who has been inspirational from the past," Heminger said.
"The Marysville Art League has been here in the Houston House, it's a historical place and I really want to keep it here," she said.
"Art is what you feel. Art is when it comes from your heart," said Kim Heminger, Marysville Arts League president. "Anything that you're creating is a part of you and that's important."
When the past league president resigned, members of the Marysville Art League board were looking for ways to save the house and generate income.
"They were kind of distraught because the old president wanted to give the house to United Way and they didn't want that to happen," Heminger said.
Heminger began revamping the house about a month ago with paint, elbow grease, and a new approach to keeping the arts alive in Marysville.
"My new motto is history and art equal creativity, enthusiasm and entertainment," she said.
According to Heminger, the house, also known as the Houston House, was built by Christopher Houston in 1872. He came to America from Ireland in 1850 and settled in Marysville two years later when fewer than 500 people lived in the community.
A grocer and bank founder, Houston and his wife, Hannah, were both interested in the arts, Heminger said. The house passed on to their son, Frederick Houston, and then to Frederick's niece, Grace Houston Biamonte. She bought the home when Frederick died in 1949.
Heminger said Biamonte was an artist and several of her paintings hang throughout the home.
Biamonte attended Ohio State University and became a professor of art in Pennsylvania. A picture of her hangs in the foyer.
"Some of the original members of the Marysville Art League were actually friends with her and in a garden club with her," Heminger said.
In 1982, the Marysville Art League purchased the house for $54,000. Once the mortgage was paid off, the League built a back room that now serves as a work area and space for art classes.
"We would like to get life back in it and have art classes and performing arts and different things going on," Heminger said. "We want to start the art partnership up again."
The house is also available to rent for meetings, birthday parties and bridal or baby showers.
Some repairs are still needed, Heminger said. A new roof was put on in 2010 but one upstairs room still bears the damage caused by the previously leaky roof.
Heminger wants to start a "Save the Soffit" campaign, as well as add new sidewalks and a driveway.
Many artists are featured throughout the house, including Hollywood fashion designer and Ohio native, Eugene Snively.
Contemporary local artist Dante Camerlengo has six paintings in the house and is excited about the future of the structure.
. "Art needs to be brought back to Marysville," Camerlengo said. "With all the new media, it's dying out. I'm glad to see something's happening with it."
Membership fees range from $15 to $100 and allow members to rent the home or take classes.
"Were trying to get people to adopt rooms and then we will eventually name all of them after someone who has been inspirational from the past," Heminger said.
"The Marysville Art League has been here in the Houston House, it's a historical place and I really want to keep it here," she said.