Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922)
 Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922) was born in Ipswich
and interpreted images of the town throughout his
lifetime. In Dow’s early years, although
his family’ s funds were limited, his curiosity
and intelligence were well appreciated. By age
nineteen Dow recognized his artistic ability as
he worked on illustrations for The Antiquarian
Papers. After studying art in Worcester and Boston,
he set his sights on Europe. Saving money from
teaching and gathering financial support from Massachusetts’s
patrons, Dow sailed for Paris in 1884 where he
enrolled at the Academie Julian. During winters
of rigorous academic training and summers spent
on the north coast of France, Dow produced not
only prize-winning entries into the Salon, but
also paintings to exhibit and sell on return visits
to the United States.
The 1890s were years of active change for Dow.
In 1891 he founded the Ipswich Summer School of
Art, which for fifteen years enrolled up to 200
students annually. He married Minnie Pearson in
1893. She had been, and would continue to be, his
confidante and advisor throughout their life together;
she played an active role in Dow’s printmaking
and taught at the Ipswich Summer School. At the
same time, Dow became disenchanted with the academic
style. His reaction to the fledgling collection
of Japanese works at Boston’s Museum of Fine
Arts revolutionized his thoughts on the theories
of art. By incorporating Japanese techniques with
the purity of design of the arts and crafts movement,
Dow single-handedly changed the method of teaching
art in America. The publication of his book Composition
in 1899 and other academic papers solidified his
pivotal role. After a few years as Assistant Curator
of Japanese Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, he
taught at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. From
1904 until his death he was the Director of the
Fine Arts Department at the Teachers’ College
at Columbia University in New York City.
Dow’s early style of painting reflected
his Boston and Parisian academic training. Most
early painting is tonal in character, but even
then his interest in design, color, and harmony
is evident. Dow’s fascination with light,
especially twilight, remained a constant throughout
his life. He painted the variation of color and
intensity of the Ipswich Marshes, the cliffs of
Gay Head, and the Grand Canyon with equal skill.
He traveled extensively, but returned regularly
to Ipswich where a thriving art colony, which included
Henry Kenyon, John W. Mansfield, Francis H. Richardson,
and Theodore Wendel, existed.
Dow produced oil paintings, photographs, ink wash
drawings, and wood block prints until his death
in 1922. Japanese wood block printing especially
intrigued him; by using different colors on the
same wood block, he could change both seasons and
moods. His works were exhibited widely during his
lifetime, and his reputation both as an art educator
and an artist continue to grow. His exhibitions
included the Art Institute of Chicago, St. Botolph’
s Club, National Academy of Design, Boston Art
Club.
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