Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922) was an American printmaker, painter, photographer and influential art educator during the Arts and Crafts movement. He was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts to a well-off New England family. Dow started working with art instructors at a young age and continued to develop a passion for the arts. Dow started working with art instructors at a young age and continued to develop a passion for the arts. Like many artists of this time, Dow studied art in Paris for about 5 years. While there he was influenced by many great artists, including Paul Gauguin. When he returned back to the states, he began to take an interest in Asian and Japanese art, particularly the clean-cut woodblock prints of Hokusai. He frequently studied the nature of these works at the Boston Museum of Art, where he met Professor Ernest F. Fenollosa, a philosopher and former imperial art commissioner for the Japanese government. Fenollosa had a big impact on Dow's theories, as they shared some of the similar beliefs in the faults of the current art educational structure. They worked together to create a new 'synthetic' structure in which to teach art education.
In early 1900, Dow developed the Summer School at Ipswich, Massachusetts, where he would practice his lessons and ideas of composition with his students.
In 1904, Dow became the director of Fine Arts at Teachers College, Columbia College, New York. From here, his clean and systematic structure for teaching art became the standard in the industry.
In 1913, Dow published the first edition of Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers. The book became a staple in many art schools and classrooms, elementary to college level, across the U.S. until the mid 1970’s.
He has influenced a variety of artists including Georgia O'keefe, Max Weber, and Alvin Langdon Coburn and his legacy will continue to live on through his writings. He continued to teach and create up until his death in 1922. It was not until after death did he receive the most recognition for his own artwork, including several recognition shows.
In early 1900, Dow developed the Summer School at Ipswich, Massachusetts, where he would practice his lessons and ideas of composition with his students.
In 1904, Dow became the director of Fine Arts at Teachers College, Columbia College, New York. From here, his clean and systematic structure for teaching art became the standard in the industry.
In 1913, Dow published the first edition of Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers. The book became a staple in many art schools and classrooms, elementary to college level, across the U.S. until the mid 1970’s.
He has influenced a variety of artists including Georgia O'keefe, Max Weber, and Alvin Langdon Coburn and his legacy will continue to live on through his writings. He continued to teach and create up until his death in 1922. It was not until after death did he receive the most recognition for his own artwork, including several recognition shows.