Louis Oscar (L.O.) Griffith

male	1875-1956
Era: 19th & 20th Century
Life city: Greencastle, IN
Work city: Nashville, IN
Teachers: St. Louis School of F.A. Art Institute of Chicago
Styles: Etchings Landscapes Paintings Rivers Watercolors

Putnam County
Brown County

We're very interested in buying artwork by Louis Oscar (L.O.) Griffith. Please contact us for more information.

Born in 1875 in Greencastle, IN, Louis Oscar Griffith lived in Nashville, IN the last thirty years of his life, after spending many years in Texas (childhood), St. Louis (art school) and Chicago (career).

While growing up in Texas he was taken under the wing of well-known artist Frank Reaugh. Even taking a trip through the Southwest by covered wagon, painting as they traveled.

‘L.O.’, or ‘Griff’ was a successful commercial artist in Chicago by the late 1910s. He married Carolyn Maulsby in 1920 and two years brought a career change. As the story goes, Griffith sent off a just-completed ham illustration to a meat-packing firm. The company’s art director sent it back with the notation “Make ham more graceful.” That apparently tipped the scale and sent him, his wife and young son packing for Nashville, IN, county seat of beautiful Brown County, which they had been visiting for years.

A man of strict scheduling and precision, he rose at 6:00 am everyday, and painted in his studio and a slow and methodical pace, often from sketches he earlier had made in the field. His etchings in particular were works of perfectionism, whether in black and white or in multi-layers of color. Griffith was known for his subtle tonalities of his aquatints, and won many awards.

He was also a regular exhibitor in Brown County and the Hoosier Salon. The Griffiths were also good friends with fellow artists and neighbors Adolph and Alberta Schultz and the Vawters.

Louis Oscar Griffith died in 1956 in Franklin, Indiana at age 81.

Note: Not to be confused with Lorenze Griffith (who signed as “L. Griffith” ) who also painted in and around Indiana in the early 20th century.

We are very interested in purchasing pieces by L.O. Griffith. Please contact us if you have artwork you are considering selling.