Composition

2017 Reprint of 1929 Revised and Enlarged Edition. PRINTED IN FULL COLOR as an exact facsimile of the original revised edition of 1929, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Dow was a very influencial art teacher around the turn of the 19th century, teaching at the Pratt Institute, the New York Art Students League, and Columbia University Teachers College. His ideas were quite revolutionary for the period; he taught that rather than copying nature, art should be created by elements of the composition, like line, mass and color. He wanted public leaders to see art as a living force in everyday life for all, not a sort of traditional ornament for the few. Dow suggested that art permit self-expression and include personal experience in its creation. His ideas on Art were published in the 1899 book Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers. In this book he explains that

Composition ... expresses the idea upon which the method here presented is founded - the "putting together" of lines, masses and colors to make a harmony. ... Composition, building up of harmony, is the fundamental process in all the fine arts. ... A natural method is of exercises in progressive order, first building up very simple harmonies ... Such a method of study includes all kinds of drawing, design and painting. It offers a means of training for the creative artist, the teacher or one who studies art for the sake of culture.