Arthur Wesley Dow & Alvin Langdon Coburn
Arthur Wesley Dow and Alvin Langdon Coburn were bound with one of the most formative relationships between artists, that of teacher/student. While Dow became an influential teacher and mentor to a whole generation of American artists, including painters, printmakers, photographers, and craftsmen, it is Coburn’s work that most directly reflects Dow’s aesthetic principles. The four photographic images—examples of various printing techniques, such as photogravure, platinum print, and gelatin silver print—illustrate a shared Pictorialist sensibility, of which Coburn went on to become a leading proponent. The teacher/student relationship, however, evolved into a more intimate friendship; in 1911, for example, the two men traveled with their families—Dow with his brother, Dana, Alvin with his mother—to the Grand Canyon, where Mrs. Coburn photographed Dow looking out into the horizon.
 Arthur Wesley DowThe Dragon, c. 1902 gum bichromate print 2007.10.115 partial gift of George and Barbara Wright and partial purchase as the gift of R. Crosby Kemper through the R. Crosby Kemper Foundation |  Alvin Langdon CoburnGrand Canyon, Silhouette of Trees, 1911 platinum print 2007.10.120 partial gift of George and Barbara Wright and partial purchase as the gift of R. Crosby Kemper through the R. Crosby Kemper Foundation |  Alvin Langdon CoburnThe Bridge-London, print 1906 photogravure 2003.34.5 museum purchase, John R. Stevenson (PA 1938) Fund |
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 Arthur Wesley DowReflecting Pool, India, c. 1903 gelatin silver print 2007.10.174 partial gift of George and Barbara Wright and partial purchase as the gift of R. Crosby Kemper through the R. Crosby Kemper Foundation |