[Arthur W. Dow | Association Copy] Composition

Dow, Arthur Wesley. Composition: A Series of Exercises Selected from a New System of Art Education. Boston: J.M. Bowles, 1899. Composition and presswork by the Heintzemann Press. The extremely scarce first printing (the second printing in 1899 was published by The Baker and Taylor Company). Illustrations in green-gray depicting Dow’s theory of Notan, along with additional illustrations on glossy paper. Paper covered boards with grey-toned page edges. Measures approx. 9.25" x 11.5".

Loosely inserted is a 1-page letter from Dow (as director at the Department of Fine Arts at Columbia) to Frederick W. Gookin, who is most well known as the curator of Japanese prints at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC). The letter is dated "April 4, 1908" and Dow mentions receiving a catalogue from an exhibition, and references "Oriental art" in a sentence following. Accordingly, the exhibition being referenced would have been the famous exhibition of "Japanese Color Prints", which ran from Mar. 5 to Mar. 25 in 1908 at the AIC. Gookin was a lender to the exhibition, wrote the introductory essay to the catalogue, and most notably, "...Frank Lloyd Wright was not only a lender but also designed the entire exhibition, including layout, wall panels, furniture and frames" (Art Institute of Chicago).

Given the very fragile nature of the spine of this volume, its scarcity is not surprising. Chipping to head and tail, as well as overall fragility to the spine. Some minor repairs.

"This book, first published in 1899, is commonly referred to as the first American Arts & Crafts design text. It had a great influence on pottery and printed design and also on copper work, such as that of the Clarence Crafters in Chicago. Its influence is also visible in some of Harvey Ellis' inlay work. Also influenced by this work was Janet Payne Bowles [Arts and Crafts metal and jewelry worker]. This work was first published by her husband, Joseph Bowles, in Boston" (The Arts & Crafts Metalwork of Janet Payne Bowles, Shifman).

"First published in 1899, Arthur Wesley Dow's Composition has probably influenced more Americans than any other text to think of visual form and composition in relation to artistic modernity" (Univ. of California Press).