Paul Hadley (1880 – 1971)

Known primarily for designing the Indiana state flag in 1916, Hadley also designed stained glass windows and home interiors and taught at Herron Art School for 10 years. Hadley wrote, “If a young art student wants to make money, I would urge them not to enter the profession, but if they want to find much beauty and joy in life at the sacrifice of much else, then I would say YES!”

Born in Indianapolis, Hadley attended Manual High School, where he studied art under Hoosier Group artist Otto Stark (buried in Crown Hill Cemetery). Upon graduation, he attended the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia. Hadley’s watercolors brought him many awards in the annual Hoosier Salon, Indiana Artists Club, and Indiana State Fair art exhibitions.

Hadley designed stained glass windows for churches and did interior decorating. One client was his friend and author Booth Tarkington (buried in Crown Hill Cemetery) for Tarkington’s summer home in Maine. In 1922, Hadley joined the faculty of the John Herron Art Institute, where he taught classes in watercolor and interior design. Later, he would serve as Assistant Curator at the John Herron Art Museum.

Hadley’s iconic state flag design was adopted by the 1917 Indiana General Assembly as a part of the commemoration of the state’s 1916 Centennial celebration. The flag design was chosen through a competition sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

His work is in the collections of Shortridge High School (now housed at the Indiana State Museum), Manual High School, the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, and the Mooresville Public Library. When Hadley died in 1971, the Indiana State Senate passed a resolution acknowledging his passing and called him “the dean of Hoosier watercolor artists.”