Mable Eastman Dixon

Mabel Eastman Dixon Macmullen (1888-1973)

A longtime, Des Moines art educator, Mabel Eastman Dixon's talents combined her modest beginnings, impressive educational choices, and a wide variety of life experiences. Born in the small, Sac County community of Auburn, Iowa, Dixon was one of three children. A brief enrollment at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in 1908 may have inspired her choice to be both a teacher and artist. Dixon enrolled at the prestigious Teachers College of Columbia University (NYC) and completed her Bachelor's degree in 1914. With her family now living in Des Moines, Dixon relocated there and soon found employment in the local, public school district. She joined the faculty of North High School as an art teacher (1919-?) and later taught art at Roosevelt High School, where she was a memorable figure in the life of Glenn Chamberlain.

In pursuit of her own development as an artist, Dixon studied at the Church School of Art in Chicago and attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts of France at Fontainebleau, a 1920s conservatory devoted to painting, architecture, and sculpture. While abroad, Dixon had a one-man show in Paris (1928) and maintained a studio there (winters of 1928, 1929). She also painted in southern France, Brittany, and the islands of Corsica and Marjorca. Dixon had one-man shows at the City Library Gallery (Des Moines, 1929), the Memorial Union of Iowa State College (Ames, 1930), and the Younker Brothers department store (Des Moines, 1930), under the auspices of the Iowa Artists Club. The latter awarded Dixon its Francis Asbury Robinson prize for her work "A Spanish Garden" in 1931. She participated in later club exhibitions (1934, 1935) and served as treasurer (1932) and secretary (1934, 1935) for the organization.

In 1932, Dixon married Sydney Macmullen, who was employed as the business manager at a Des Moines sanitarium known as "The Retreat." The facility, located at the corner of 28th Street and Woodland Avenue, advertised itself as a private hospital for nervous and mental disorders. The hospital's director, Dr. Gershom H. Hill, was widely considered the state's leading psychiatrist and an expert on insanity, leading to his frequent appearance at several, notable criminal trials. The Macmullens lived at the hospital while Dixon continued her employment as a local art teacher. Iowa medical history sources indicate that transfer of the facility's leadership occured in 1946. At that time, Dixon became administrator while retaining a professional medical director; as of 1950, "The Retreat" maintained facilities to house 40 patients. The site is now the location of Scottish Rite Park, a retirement community that opened in 1973.

During the 1930s, Dixon gained honors for her painting "Canadian Farmhouse," which won first prize from the Des Moines Women's Club (1934) and third place at the Iowa Art Salon, Iowa State Fair (1935). The Art Salon also featured "The Melodian," "The Old Oak Tree, and "Old Houses on the Loing" in its 1934 exhibition. Iowa Artist Club showings featured "Angels Sing Thee to Thy Rest" (1934) and "Breakfast" (1935). One, notable painting, "Karn Marie" won the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs' gold medal and was selected for the All Iowa Exhibit at Carson Pirie Scott (1937). The painting was later shown at the National Exhibit of American Art at the Fine Art Society Galleries (NYC, 1937) and in Fontainbleau, France. Dixon's appearance in the All Iowa Exhibit paired her with eleven other Iowa artists, many of whom attended the Stone City Art Colony.

Dixon and her husband remained in Des Moines, where she died in 1973. It is presumed that she eventually left the Des Moines Public School system due to professional demands associated with "The Retreat."

Source: https://projects.mtmercy.edu/stonecity/otherartists/macmullen.html