Madeline Tourtelot brought a little bit of the big city with her to Door County over 80 ago and, with it, changed the area’s arts scene for generations. Tourtelot moved to Evanston, Ill. as a young girl and became immersed in the arts because of her musical father and the proximity of museums and galleries to her home. She began a career in movie production, where her credits included collaborations with musicians, including films like Windsong, The Poets Return, The Cry of Jazz, and U.S. Highball. With her husband Edward's help, Tourtelot created three art institutions, including the Ephraim Art School in 1943 and what is now known as the Peninsula School of Art in 1965. Seven years after she retired as the school’s director, Tourtelot donated much of the land and buildings to the Peninsula Art Association, which continues to run the Peninsula School of Art to this day. Mynn Lanphier says the stories he has heard about Tourtelot provide a compass for artists that come to Door County

Tourtelot passed away in 2002, but you can still find her movie work online and some of her other artwork at the Art Institute of Chicago and inside the Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek.

Picture courtesy of the Peninsula School of Art

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