Arthur Wesley Dow and American Arts & Crafts

by Nancy E. Green

Arthur Wesley Dow and American Arts & Crafts will for the first time examine the influence of Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922) as both an innovative artist and inspiring teacher to students such as Max Weber, Alfred Stieglitz, Ernest Batchelder, and Georgia O'Keeffe. Including photographs, furniture, paintings, ceramics, and prints by Dow and his contemporaries, the varied selection of works reproduced in the catalogue underscores the elegance of pure design based in nature. Included in the catalogue are essays by guest curator Nancy E. Green, chief curator at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, and Jessie Poesch, an expert on Newcomb Pottery and professor emerita at Tulane University. Green focuses on Dow's printmaking and the origins of the American Arts and Crafts aesthetic while Poesch examines Dow's impact on American pottery.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Frank McAdam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur Wesley Dow and American Arts and Crafts was written to accompany an exhibit given by the American Federation of Arts in 1999. It consists of two short essays and a number of excellent reproductions not only of Dow's own works but those of his students as well. The first essay, written by Nancy E. Green, is the more useful and provides a broad outlook over the course of Dow's career. Unfortunately, Green is so determined to demonstrate the depth of Dow's influence on the course of American art that she spends more time discussing his students and followers than she does the artist himself. The second essay, written by Jessie Poesch, has a much narrower focus and limits itself to an overview of the ceramics inspired by Dow's teaching. In spite of its limitations, the book is a useful introduction to an important American artist.