Robert Dowd
Encyclopedia
Robert Dowd was an American artist, who also painted under the name Robert O'Dowd.
After his discharge from the U.S. Marines in 1957 he entered the Society of Arts and Crafts/Center for Creative Studies
, Detroit, Michigan where he studied painting with Sarkis Sarkisian. In 1958-9 he began drawing common objects, including 'Stop' signs. His work first appeared in an Art In America
article by Robert Broner on the "Young Artists Group" in Detroit. In 1960 he moved to San Francisco and began work on his first images of postage stamps. In 1961 he moved to Los Angeles and began work on his currency paintings. By 1962 he was getting attention for his ground breaking paintings of common objects. Around the country several other artists were experimenting with this new concept and in 1962 he was invited to show his work at the Pasadena Art Museum.
, Andy Warhol
, Jim Dine
, Phillip Hefferton
, Joe Goode
, Edward Ruscha
, and Wayne Thiebaud
, in the historically important and ground-breaking New Painting of Common Objects
, curated by Walter Hopps
at the Pasadena Art Museum. This exhibition is historically considered the first "Pop Art" Exhibition in America. These painters started a movement, in a time of social unrest, which shocked America and the Art world and changed Art forever, "Pop Art".
Certainly this hurt his career but he switched back for a while to painting postage stamps but continued to paint currency in private. In November 1963 he began a red and white colored JFK Inauguration Stamp and had just finished it on November 22, 1963 the day JFK was assassinated. Dowd destroyed the painting as he spent the day listening to the events of November 22, 1963. The pencil on paper drawing of painting dated 11/22/63 survives. On one occasion a year's work of paintings, which he had in storage for an up-coming exhibition he found destroyed, ripped to shreds, he canceled the exhibition. Sometimes paintings in storage and in his studio would just disappear. He often wondered if the FBI had them in their own collection. Dowd continued to paint and exhibit in L.A. throughout the 1960s. In addition to his currency and stamp paintings Dowd painted 20+ paintings in his Circus series, he painted from photographs (Hefferton Poloroid, 1962), painted candy apples, oreos and chocolate chip cookies, fingerprints, Ohio cookies, appetite eraser, oranges and many, other common objects. He made candy apples in multiples as art, made miniature oreo and chocolate chip cookies with magnets on the back which led to the refrigerator magnet craze. In 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated, Robert Kennedy was assassinated in L.A. several months later, there were Viet Nam protests against the war. In 1969 Charles Manson
and the Tate
/ La Bianca murders in L.A. and Dowd's artist friend John Altoon
died of a sudden heart attack at age 44. In late 1969 Dowd began a new series of paintings Through the Object Barrier and in 1970 he moved to SoHo, New York.
to execute for campus, Unexpected Universe. In 1972 he had a solo exhibition at the White Museum, Cornell University, New York. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Dowd continued to paint and exhibit in the New York area. He did commission work in New York City, painting Windows with a View on walls in windowless offices. He painted murals in lobbies for large banks and corporations. In 1982 he did the artwork and lay-out for a short-lived national newspaper, Reward News, which offered rewards for information on missing children and adults. Etan Patz
and Adam Walsh were featured stories. He also did commissioned portrait paintings. In 1985 Dowd returned to Los Angeles.
whom he met in artist circles after his move to Los Angeles. After moving Dowd and fellow artist John Altoon
opened an art supply store and studio at 6500 Santa Monica Blvd.,LA. This became a gathering place for LA artists. In the 1960s Devereux was well known for her 5-sided box paintings which were covered with plexiglass and were used as lazy-susans. Devereux is a well known and established artist in her own right and continues to paint and exhibit in LA. Her work can be seen at Gallery ASTO. She remains active in the LA art community and lives in LA. They had no children together but Devereux has a son from a previous marriage, she has not re-married after Dowd's death. Dowd was also survived by a brother, Michael, of Detroit, Michigan.
and a renewed interest in Dowd's contributions to Pop Art. In 1989 Dowd was included in LA Pop of the Sixties, a nine-person exhibition curated by Ann Ayres at the Newport Harbor Art Museum. In 1991 the Smithsonian included Dowd's paintings in the traveling exhibition "The Realm of the Coin: Money in Contemporary Art" curated by Barbara Coller. Dowd's famous 1965 painting "Van Gogh Dollar" (owned by Joni Gordon of L.A.) was featured. In 1994 the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it was going to re-design U.S. currency and produce "New Money". Dowd's enthusiasm was re-kindled. Now living in Abiquiu, New Mexico he planned to re-visit his work of the 1960s with a new series of paintings, New Money, his vision of what new money could or would like. He started with the $100.00 Bill and with the financial help of a close friend he produced a "Limited Edition" of 200 lithographs of the $100.00 Bill. While planning out his other painting in the series Dowd became ill. Known only to his closest friends and relatives, Dowd was told by his doctors that he had a tumor in one of his kidneys. He needed an operation to remove his kidneys and he would require dialysis afterwards to prolong his life. A kidney transplant was required if he were to get a new lease on life. Dowd like so many artists did not have health insurance. With his valuable paintings sold long ago, time ran out for him to reap the financial rewards of his new series of paintings. Unable to afford the costs of medical care, and perhaps to proud to ask for financial help that would have prolonged or saved his life, Dowd's condition worsened, and he quietly moved back to Los Angeles. He was quietly admitted to a Hospice Home where he died of complications of end-stage renal failure. Dowd never wavered in his love for his country, his devotion to his Art and his loyalty to his friends and relatives. The ex-Marine turned "Pop Artist" lived up to the Marine Motto, "Semper fidelis
" which means, "Always Faithful".
at Pepperdine University
in Malibu, California
organized a one-person exhibition of the artist Robert Dowd. This was the first museum survey dedicated exclusively to his work. The exhibition was held from January 17 to April 5, 2009, and featured a catalog of the exhibition.
After his discharge from the U.S. Marines in 1957 he entered the Society of Arts and Crafts/Center for Creative Studies
College for Creative Studies
College for Creative Studies is an art education institution in the United States and was cited by BusinessWeek as one of the 60 best design schools in the world. It is a private, fully accredited, four-year college located in Detroit, Michigan...
, Detroit, Michigan where he studied painting with Sarkis Sarkisian. In 1958-9 he began drawing common objects, including 'Stop' signs. His work first appeared in an Art In America
Art in America
Art in America is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It is designed for collectors, artists, dealers, art professionals and other...
article by Robert Broner on the "Young Artists Group" in Detroit. In 1960 he moved to San Francisco and began work on his first images of postage stamps. In 1961 he moved to Los Angeles and began work on his currency paintings. By 1962 he was getting attention for his ground breaking paintings of common objects. Around the country several other artists were experimenting with this new concept and in 1962 he was invited to show his work at the Pasadena Art Museum.
Birth of Pop Art
In 1962 Dowd's work was included, along with Roy LichtensteinRoy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
, Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, Jim Dine
Jim Dine
Jim Dine is an American pop artist. He is sometimes considered to be a part of the Neo-Dada movement. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, attended Walnut Hills High School, the University of Cincinnati, and received a BFA from Ohio University in 1957. He first earned respect in the art world with...
, Phillip Hefferton
Phillip Hefferton
Phillip Hefferton is an American pop artist from Detroit, Michigan, known for his paintings of banknotes. A friend of artist Robert Dowd, he entered the Society of Arts and Crafts, Detroit, where he studied painting with Sarkis Sarkisian. In 1958-9 he began drawing "common objects"...
, Joe Goode
Joe Goode
Joe Goode was born in Oklahoma City, OK in 1937. In 1959 he moved to Los Angeles, CA where he attended the Chouinard Art Institute until 1961.First recognized for his Pop Art milk bottle paintings and cloud imagery, Goode's work was included along with Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Jim Dine,...
, Edward Ruscha
Edward Ruscha
Edward Joseph Ruscha IV is an American artist associated with the Pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and film. Ruscha lives and works in Culver City, California...
, and Wayne Thiebaud
Wayne Thiebaud
Wayne Thiebaud is an American painter whose most famous works are of cakes, pastries, boots, toilets, toys and lipsticks. He is associated with the Pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture, although his works, executed during the fifties and sixties, slightly predate...
, in the historically important and ground-breaking New Painting of Common Objects
New Painting of Common Objects
The exhibition "New Painting of Common Objects" at the Pasadena Art Museum in 1962 was the first museum survey of American pop art. The eight artists included were: Roy Lichtenstein, Jim Dine, Andy Warhol, Phillip Hefferton, Robert Dowd, Edward Ruscha, Joe Goode and Wayne Thiebaud...
, curated by Walter Hopps
Walter Hopps
Walter Hopps was an American museum director and curator of contemporary art. His obituary in the Washington Post described him as a "sort of a gonzo museum director -- elusive, unpredictable, outlandish in his range, jagged in his vision, heedless of rules."Hopps was born in Eagle Rock, Los...
at the Pasadena Art Museum. This exhibition is historically considered the first "Pop Art" Exhibition in America. These painters started a movement, in a time of social unrest, which shocked America and the Art world and changed Art forever, "Pop Art".
1960s
The 1960s were a time of social unrest. Hoover's FBI and the government thought anybody who was anti-establishment should be investigated and persecuted despite the right of freedom of expression. Unfortunately for Dowd his fascination with painting currency caught the attention of the Secret Service. Painting currency in those days was considered counterfeiting even if intended as a spoof. Dowd explains what happened in an interview with Lynn Pyne:"One morning in 1963, two agents from the Secret Service knocked on the door of Dowd's studio. They took him down to the Federal building in downtown LA, where they sternly read to him a litany of counterfeiting laws. Evidently it didn't matter that he was a former U.S. Marine. "They were attempting to intimidate me with all these threats" he says. "It was really a matter of them attempting to tell me that if I continued to paint money, that I would be arrested for counterfeiting, that I was breaking the law". "They did have some work of mine that they had confiscated as contraband. They told me they were going to museums and collectors and confiscate all the paintings out of the collections. "My situation as a young artist, struggling at that point, was that I certainly didn't need any major problems added onto my life at the moment, in terms of survival and trying to do my work".
Certainly this hurt his career but he switched back for a while to painting postage stamps but continued to paint currency in private. In November 1963 he began a red and white colored JFK Inauguration Stamp and had just finished it on November 22, 1963 the day JFK was assassinated. Dowd destroyed the painting as he spent the day listening to the events of November 22, 1963. The pencil on paper drawing of painting dated 11/22/63 survives. On one occasion a year's work of paintings, which he had in storage for an up-coming exhibition he found destroyed, ripped to shreds, he canceled the exhibition. Sometimes paintings in storage and in his studio would just disappear. He often wondered if the FBI had them in their own collection. Dowd continued to paint and exhibit in L.A. throughout the 1960s. In addition to his currency and stamp paintings Dowd painted 20+ paintings in his Circus series, he painted from photographs (Hefferton Poloroid, 1962), painted candy apples, oreos and chocolate chip cookies, fingerprints, Ohio cookies, appetite eraser, oranges and many, other common objects. He made candy apples in multiples as art, made miniature oreo and chocolate chip cookies with magnets on the back which led to the refrigerator magnet craze. In 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated, Robert Kennedy was assassinated in L.A. several months later, there were Viet Nam protests against the war. In 1969 Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
and the Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
/ La Bianca murders in L.A. and Dowd's artist friend John Altoon
John Altoon
John Altoon , an American artist, was born in Los Angeles, California to immigrant Armenian parents. From 1947–1949 he attended the Otis Art Institute, from 1947 to 1950 he also attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, and in 1950 the Chouinard Art Institute. Altoon was a prominent...
died of a sudden heart attack at age 44. In late 1969 Dowd began a new series of paintings Through the Object Barrier and in 1970 he moved to SoHo, New York.
1970s & 1980s
In 1970 Dowd worked on his Through the Object Barrier series. In 1971 he was commissioned by Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
to execute for campus, Unexpected Universe. In 1972 he had a solo exhibition at the White Museum, Cornell University, New York. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Dowd continued to paint and exhibit in the New York area. He did commission work in New York City, painting Windows with a View on walls in windowless offices. He painted murals in lobbies for large banks and corporations. In 1982 he did the artwork and lay-out for a short-lived national newspaper, Reward News, which offered rewards for information on missing children and adults. Etan Patz
Etan Patz
Etan Kalil Patz was a kidnapped American child. He was 6 years old when he disappeared in lower Manhattan, New York on May 25, 1979. At the time, news coverage of Patz's disappearance was made into a media circus in the New York City area. He is arguably the most famous missing child of New York...
and Adam Walsh were featured stories. He also did commissioned portrait paintings. In 1985 Dowd returned to Los Angeles.
Personal life
In 1962 Dowd married artist and painter Mara DevereuxMara Devereux
Mara Devereux is an American artist.Devereux is the widow of artist Robert Dowd whom she married in 1962. Devereux is a prolific abstract painter, her work and exhibitions span over 50 years. Her paintings are in many homes and collections in Beverly Hills, California and Museums throughout the...
whom he met in artist circles after his move to Los Angeles. After moving Dowd and fellow artist John Altoon
John Altoon
John Altoon , an American artist, was born in Los Angeles, California to immigrant Armenian parents. From 1947–1949 he attended the Otis Art Institute, from 1947 to 1950 he also attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, and in 1950 the Chouinard Art Institute. Altoon was a prominent...
opened an art supply store and studio at 6500 Santa Monica Blvd.,LA. This became a gathering place for LA artists. In the 1960s Devereux was well known for her 5-sided box paintings which were covered with plexiglass and were used as lazy-susans. Devereux is a well known and established artist in her own right and continues to paint and exhibit in LA. Her work can be seen at Gallery ASTO. She remains active in the LA art community and lives in LA. They had no children together but Devereux has a son from a previous marriage, she has not re-married after Dowd's death. Dowd was also survived by a brother, Michael, of Detroit, Michigan.
Final years
The late 1980s and early 1990s brought about a re-examination of Pop ArtPop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
and a renewed interest in Dowd's contributions to Pop Art. In 1989 Dowd was included in LA Pop of the Sixties, a nine-person exhibition curated by Ann Ayres at the Newport Harbor Art Museum. In 1991 the Smithsonian included Dowd's paintings in the traveling exhibition "The Realm of the Coin: Money in Contemporary Art" curated by Barbara Coller. Dowd's famous 1965 painting "Van Gogh Dollar" (owned by Joni Gordon of L.A.) was featured. In 1994 the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it was going to re-design U.S. currency and produce "New Money". Dowd's enthusiasm was re-kindled. Now living in Abiquiu, New Mexico he planned to re-visit his work of the 1960s with a new series of paintings, New Money, his vision of what new money could or would like. He started with the $100.00 Bill and with the financial help of a close friend he produced a "Limited Edition" of 200 lithographs of the $100.00 Bill. While planning out his other painting in the series Dowd became ill. Known only to his closest friends and relatives, Dowd was told by his doctors that he had a tumor in one of his kidneys. He needed an operation to remove his kidneys and he would require dialysis afterwards to prolong his life. A kidney transplant was required if he were to get a new lease on life. Dowd like so many artists did not have health insurance. With his valuable paintings sold long ago, time ran out for him to reap the financial rewards of his new series of paintings. Unable to afford the costs of medical care, and perhaps to proud to ask for financial help that would have prolonged or saved his life, Dowd's condition worsened, and he quietly moved back to Los Angeles. He was quietly admitted to a Hospice Home where he died of complications of end-stage renal failure. Dowd never wavered in his love for his country, his devotion to his Art and his loyalty to his friends and relatives. The ex-Marine turned "Pop Artist" lived up to the Marine Motto, "Semper fidelis
Semper fidelis
Semper Fidelis is Latin for "Always Faithful" or "Always Loyal". Well known in the United States as the motto of the United States Marine Corps , Semper Fidelis has served as a slogan for many families and entities, in many countries, dated to have been started no later than the 16th century...
" which means, "Always Faithful".
Recent news
Micheal Zakian, Ph.D. Director of the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of ArtFrederick R. Weisman Museum of Art
There are two museums called the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art:* Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Minnesota, part of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis...
at Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
in Malibu, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
organized a one-person exhibition of the artist Robert Dowd. This was the first museum survey dedicated exclusively to his work. The exhibition was held from January 17 to April 5, 2009, and featured a catalog of the exhibition.
Museum exhibitions
(Solo and Group)- Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
- Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, CA
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
- Oakland Art Museum, Oakland, CA
- Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
- Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Harbor, CA
- Fullerton Art Museum, Fullerton, CA
- Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
- Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
- Phoenix Museum of Art, Phoenix, AZ
- Laguna-Gloria Art Museum, Austin, TX
- Museum of Art, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
- Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
- The Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
- Delaware Art Museum, Delaware
- The Art Gallery, Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
- The Sangre de Christo Gallery, Pueblo, CO
- Neuberger Museum, Purchase, NY
- Hofstra Museum, Hempstead, NY
- Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows, NY
- White Art Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- Rose Art Museum, Brandies University, Waltham, MA
External links
- Artnet, Dowd
- Auction Records at Ask/Art
- Images from Dowd's Currency Paintings
- Postage Stamp Painting from Steven Wolf Fine Art
- paintings at Gertrude Stein Gallery, NY
- "L.A. Pop of the 60's" available at Orange County Museum
- Money Matter's
- Two Pops
- Dowd painting
- Mara Devereux at Gallery ASTO
- Robert Dowd:Pop Art Money January 17- April 5, 2009