In Memoriam

On February 20, 2026, Martin “Marty” F. Krause passed away, leaving behind a nearly 50-year legacy in the Indiana art community. Marty was a scholar of Indiana’s art history who became an iconic part of that history himself, not least through his nearly 40 years as Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) at Newfields.

Marty’s influence continues to shape the IMA today. His scholarship and writing established Kurt Pantzer’s collection of works by J.M.W. Turner as an important part of the museum’s identity. He is also well known for his collections, exhibitions, and deep knowledge of Indiana-connected artists Gustave Baumann, Robert Indiana, and Garo Antreasian, as well as artists in the Hoosier School, earning him the occasional nickname “Hoosiermeister.”

Beginning as a graduate intern at the IMA in 1977, Marty worked his way up to curator by 1979. His career was launched in earnest that year when he was tapped to catalogue the Pantzer bequest of Turner watercolors, drawings, prints, oil paintings, and “Turnerabilia” numbering in the thousands.

Between then and his retirement in 2017, he shaped the IMA’s works on paper collection through the acquisition of more than 7,100 prints, drawings, and photographs, now part of a collection of about 20,000 works on paper. He was also a prolific writer during his tenure, authoring or coauthoring numerous books and exhibition catalogues, including The Passage: Return of Indiana Painters from Germany, 1880–1905 (1991), Garo Antreasian: Written on Stone; Catalogue Raisonné of Prints, 1940–1995 (1995), Turner in Indianapolis (1997), The Herron Chronicle (2003), The Essential Robert Indiana (2013), and The Autobiography of Gustave Baumann (2015).

Marty was elected to the Print Council of America in 1992 alongside Timothy Benson (Los Angeles Museum of Art), Annette Dixon (Worcester Art Museum), Lee Hendrix (Getty Museum), Shelley Langdale (MFA Boston), Peter Nisbet (Busch-Reisinger Museum, Harvard), and Miriam Stewart (Fogg Art Museum, Harvard), bringing the membership to 155 underneath President Jay Fisher. Affirming his prolific writing career, Debora Wood’s research revealed that in the same year he was elected to the PCA, Marty published three books: Felix Bracquemond: Etchings and Sketchings; A Passionate Eye and a Public Spirit: Kurt F. Pantzer and the J.M.W. Turner Collection (with Jane Graham); and Surrational Images: Photomontages by Scott Mutter.

Marty was generous with his expertise, building community across national networks of collectors, curators, enthusiasts, and scholars. Deeply ingrained in the collecting and art community in Indianapolis, he was a member of the city’s Portfolio Club for decades and managed the IMA’s Print Study Group for many years. In retirement, he continued to bring his extensive knowledge to the group discussions he attended regularly. He also was a favorite among Newfields docents. Nationally, he was a central personality in a dynamic network of individuals passionate about the Arts and Crafts printmaker Gustave Baumann, whom he dubbed “Baumaniacs.” As remembrances have been exchanged, Rachel Berenson Perry, Indiana State Museum’s Fine Arts Curator Emerita, put it perfectly: “Marty’s generosity and encouragement became a continual source of assurance and inspiration throughout my museum career. Beyond the professional, his friendship was a true delight, marked by warmth and genuine support.”

A true raconteur with an incredible memory for detail, Marty was known for his strong writing voice and turns of phrase that would show up in his exhibitions and books. He always managed to balance deep scholarly knowledge with a disarmingly down-to-earth manner. In retirement, he continued to write, consult, mentor, and speak publicly, selling out lecture halls as recently as last fall (2025). Ever the great pedestrian, he was also known for going on walks of eight to ten miles a day in good weather.

Marty’s wife, Mary, is a docent at Newfields and their daughters, Elizabeth and Kirstin, both live around Indianapolis. They inherited their father’s passion for the field, as Kirstin is now a curator at Purdue University and Elizabeth is pursuing dual MLIS and MA in history degrees.

Marty will be missed by many. Speaking for myself, even in retirement Marty was always accessible to recall a backstory, provide a suggestion, or make an introduction, all while giving me space to make my own decisions about the collection he had spent so long cultivating. His personality and mentorship were a reliable part of my role that I am going to miss every day, even as his legacy lives on in our collections, books, and memories.