Witter Gallery History

Ella Witter	Dorothy Skewis

Ella Mae Witter was born in 1882 and lived in Storm Lake, Iowa before and after her teaching career. Miss Witter graduated from Storm Lake High School and the Art Institute of Chicago where she graduated with honors. She further developed her artistic talent by studying in Munich, Germany and in Capri, Italy under Hans Hofmann. She also studied under Diego Rivera in Mexico City.

During her career as a teacher she served as art supervisor in the Muscatine, Iowa public schools and art instructor in the Akron, Ohio High School. From there she went on to the Minneapolis Central High School in Minnesota as head of the Art Department for the next twenty-five years. As a member of the National League of American Pen Women, Ella Witter showed her paintings in their annual exhibitions and won a number of awards and honors. The Sioux City Journal named her Woman of the Year in 1940 for her contribution to the arts. That same year she returned to Storm Lake and continued to paint, lecture and exhibit and became the motivating force for art in the area.

The Witter Art Gallery was made possible by Ella Witter's foresight by adding a wing to the public library. Her death in 1970 prevented her from seeing the Gallery's dedication in 1972, which became a permanent home for a major portion of her paintings, The Witter gallery has become a center for revolving exhibitions, lectures, workshops and activities for art experiences for the entire community.

Moving to Storm Lake at the age of eleven in 1911 from Inwood, Iowa, Dorothy Skewis continued her education by graduating from Storm Lake High School and Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. She then taught at Greenville, Iowa one year before attending the Art Institute of Chicago. From there she became the graphics art instructor at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan for the next twenty-nine years, five years of which she was department head after receiving her M.A. degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.

In 1954 she returned to Storm Lake, where she served as Associate Professor of Art at Buena Vista College for the next fourteen years. In 1966 Miss Skewis was honored by the fine arts program at Buena Vista College, and in 1977 she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Art from Buena Vista College. She was also an active member in the Puppeteers of America. Dorothy Skewis's leadership and guidance in developing the policies for the then new Witter Art Gallery in 1972 helped make the arts an integral part of the Storm Lake Community and helped fulfill the ideals conceived by Ella Witter.

Dorothy Skewis died in 1983 leaving to the Witter Gallery a varied collection of art work which reflects her wide range of interests and talents. This collection includes not only woodcuts and lithography, but calligraphy, water colors, puppetry and weaving.