Arthur Wesley Dow papers, circa 1826-1978, bulk 1879-1922

Collection Information

Size: 1.3 linear ft.

Summary: The collection documents aspects of the life and work of the landscape painter, printmaker, photographer and educator. Papers include correspondence, diaries, writings, lecture notes, clippings, catalogs, ephemera, artwork, and photographs.

Biographical/Historical Note

Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922) was a landscape painter, teacher, and printmaker from Ipswich, Mass. and New York, N.Y. Dow taught art at Pratt Institute, 1895-1904, and at Teachers College, Columbia University, 1904-1922. Influenced by Ernest Fenollosa, Dow introduced principles of Japanese art to Americans and made a major impact on art education. Published COMPOSITION 1899 and wrote many other books and articles on art. Max Weber and Georgia O'Keeffe were among his students.

Provenance

Material on reels 1027 and 1033-34 lent for microfilming by the Ipswich Historical Society, 1975. The diary on reel 1079 was lent by the Society for Preservation of New England Antiquities, 1976. Dow's grand-niece, Mrs. George N. Wright, donated material on reels 1208-1209 in 1976, and lent the photographs on reel 1271 the following year. Unmicrofilmed papers were received from Frederick Moffatt in 1989, who had obtained them in preparation for his book Arthur Dow (1977).

Related Materials

Additional photographs of Dow, members of his immediate family, group photographs taken at the AcadÔemie Julian, Paris, as well as unidentified group photographs, were loaned to the Archives of American Art for microfilming after which they were returned to the lender, Mrs. George N. Wright, of Bernardsville, New Jersey. These photographs can be viewed on microfilm reel 1271.

In 1975, the Ipswich Historical Society loaned biographical material, correspondence, manuscripts, printed material, and photographs for microfilming on reels 1027 and 1033-34. Additionally, the Society for Preservation of New England Antiquities loaned one diary in 1976 for microfilming on reel 1079.

Also found at the Archives of American Art are the William H. Elsner papers relating to Arthur Wesley Dow, which include color photographs of Dow's works of art and correspondence regarding Dow between Frederick Moffatt and Rudolph Schaeffer. In 1975 the Ipswich Historical Society loaned biographical material, correspondence, manuscripts, printed material, and photographs for microfilming on reels 1027 and 1033-34. Additionally, the Society for Preservation of New England Antiquities loaned one diary in 1976 for microfilming on reel 1079.

Location of Originals

• Several photographs, including images of Dow, Dow family members, group photographs of classes, and landscapes, are copy prints. The original vintage prints for some of these copies, particularly group photographs of classes and landscapes, are available at the Ipswich Historical Society. The location of the other original vintage prints is unknown.