Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
BOUL, Madeline
BOUL, Madeline. (Stockton, IL, May 17, 1902-- Dubuque, IA, March 1, 1986) Buol built her grotto--a rare concrete, stone, and glass shard sculpture with a religious theme--in her back yard on Garfield Street in the late 1940s and early 1950s. When her first efforts were unsuccessful, she wrote to Father Dobberstein, builder of the West Bend Grotto, who told her how to mix the concrete, construct the project on flat ground, and then after the cement had hardened to stand it up. (1) The home remained in the family for years before it was sold to new owners who were not interested in keeping the grotto.
Lisa Stone, curator with the Roger Brown Study Collection (The School of the Art Institute of Chicago) and author of Sacred Spaces and Other Places: A Guide to the Grottos and Sculptural Environments of the Upper Midwest (1993), discovered the Buol grotto while conducting research.
The grotto was unusual partly because it was made by a woman. The Grotto of the Redemption (Dickeyville) Grotto and Rudolph Grotto were all built by priests with assistance from male parishioners. Buol developed an original style of surface embellishment, but the structures were deteriorating and needed professional attention.
With a strong history for preserving grotto environments, the Kohler Foundation, Inc., in Kohler, Wisconsin stepped in and purchased the grotto. In late 2011 the grotto was moved to the Foundation's conservation studio. Conservation treatment and supervision were provided by International Artifacts of Pearland, Texas. At the end of 2012, the sculptures were gifted to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center.
The Kohler Foundation, Inc. supported education, arts and preservation initiatives in Wisconsin. Since the late 1970s, the preservation of folk architecture, art environments and collections by self-taught artists was the major focus of the Foundation.
Madeline and her husband Frank operated a barber shop and beauty shop in Dubuque.
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Source:
1) Art Preserve, "Madeline Boul Site," Online: https://www.jmkac.org/artist/madeline-buol/
"Buol Grotto to be Saved by Kohler" Online: http://www.detourart.com/buol-grotto-to-be-saved-by-kohler/
"Madeline Buol Grotto" Kohler Foundation Inc. Online: http://www.detourart.com/buol-grotto-to-be-saved-by-kohler/