One of the very most popular in the Maitres series, an increasingly rare masterpiece in American design.

"One of the most important painters and teachers at the turn of the century. Trained in France, he was a painter of conventional landscapes in a Barbizon style up until 1891. That year, a book of Hokusai's prints led him to Ernest Fenollosa, curator of Japanese art at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, from whom he gained a thorough understanding of Japanese composition. His ability to combine the two traditions brought him critical acclaim…Dow designed…the most original and beautifully printed poster of the decade, a triumph of lithographic printing by Boston's Louis Prang and company (for the magazine 'Modern Art').

Arthur Wesley Dow

An influential artist and teacher, Dow's own work was heavily influenced by the "floating world" (ukiyo-e), of the Japanese woodblock masters and other Asian art influences, as well as the Arts and Crafts movement of William Morris in England. A teacher at many of America's most prominent art institutions (Pratt Institute, Columbia University Teachers College, the Arts Student's League, and his own Ipswich Summer School of Art), Dow's influence spread far and wide, including Georgia O'Keeffe, who was his most famous inspiration. Perhaps his most lasting gift to the art world was his 1899 manual, Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers, which became a standard art text at schools across the nation. Dow's most famous poster, reproduced in the Maitres de l'Affiche was for the magazine entitled Modern Art . ( Sale 2016, Lot 40)