O here they come 
O here they come  

They come for treats 
And we have some  

There’s pumpkins and ghosts 
and nature and arts  

There’s hot chocolate and coats 
Warming all of the hearts  

When the sun goes down,  
“Somebody turn on the lights” 

There’re so many people around 
“These are the Harvest Nights!” 

O here they come 
O here they come  

They come for treats 
And we have some  

O here they come 
O here they come  

They come for treats 
And we have some  

THERE’S A GHOST WAITING FOR YOU AT NEWFIELDS, and I know what she’s happy about!  

Of course, they’re old stories—old ghosts, at Newwwfields, there’s an overwhelming amount of history that runs around the campus of the Indianapolis Museum of Art on a day-to-day basis.  

History tells us why things are the way they are, reminds us of who was here and what they were doing.  

Even if we forget, this land remembers, from the Native Americans who lived along the White River, to the Lilly family, to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, all of these stories hang around this campus together. Every now and then, ghosts of stories past pop up and give the employees of Newfields a little scare!  

Do you see that girl dancing by the door of Lilly House? Look again! She’s really dancing, she’s excited, she’s singing! I guess it’s not uncommon for a ghost to get excited during Halloween season. It’s not uncommon for any of us to get excited about Halloween, just take a walk-through of Harvest Nights presented by JPMorgan Chase at Newfields if you have any doubts about that!  

So who’s dancing at Lilly House? I think it’s a friend of Ruth Lilly’s, of course, maybe the ghost lived here with Ruth as a young girl, with Ruth’s mother, also named Ruth Lilly, and her brother and father, both named Josiah K. Lilly! This is a great house … but how would one go trick-or-treating? How could you give out candy when you live tucked away in the wooded hills of Indianapolis. I would have felt lonely!  

Not to mention, trick-or-treating was just gaining popularity at the time Ruth moved in and joined her ghostly friend. While it isn’t known if Ruth participated in the festivities surrounding Halloween, the great-granddaughter of Eli Lilly, still managed to give treats to the city of Indianapolis throughout her lifetime.  

Over the course of her life, the Indianapolis native gave away much of her inheritance from the Eli Lilly & Co. fortune. Court documents showed in 2002 that Lilly had bequeathed nearly $500 million to charitable and arts-related groups, according to her obituary published in the IndyStar in January 2010.  

Ruth’s grandfather, Josiah K. Lilly, Sr. was a giver too!! I talk about all the time and money he gave to the Senate Avenue YMCA (at one point the largest Black YMCA in the county) during our Walk & Talks at Newfields!

The Lilly family gave a lot. Ruth Lilly even donated her beautiful estate Oldfields, to Newfields in the 1960s. She’s just happy to see everybody in her neighborhood celebrating, enjoying themselves.  

It’s important Newfields continues to work to be a welcoming environment for EVERYONE. Newfields has made a new commitment to the people of Indianapolis in efforts to make sure we’re ALL represented when we visit.  

These new commitments and promises are enough to make the ghostly and the living dance and sing: 

O here they come 
O here they come  

They come for treats 
And we have some  

There’s pumpkins and ghosts 
and nature and arts  

There’s hot chocolate and coats 
Warming all of the hearts  

When the sun goes down,  
“Somebody turn on the lights” 

There’re so many people around 
“These are the Harvest Nights!” 

O here they come 
O here they come  

They come for treats 
And we have some  

O here they come 
O here they come  

They come for treats 
And we have some  

EXHIBITION CREDITS: 

Harvest Nights is presented by JPMorgan Chase. Lead support is provided by Corteva Agriscience. Generous in-kind support is provided by Blockhouse Studios, Sunbelt Rentals, and Sun King Brewing. Additional support is provided by Fleetwatcher LLC, Marian Inc., and Mays Chemical Company. Support for Art-or-Treat weekend is provided by Barnes & Thornburg LLP, BLICK Art Materials, Delta Dental, and Priority Press. Harvest Nights is made possible by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its initiative, Strengthening Indianapolis Through Arts and Culture Innovation. 

IMAGE CREDITS: 

Aerial photograph of Lilly House from east side, Box 11, Folder 24. IMA Photography Archives (PHO 001), Archives, Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Indianapolis, IN.