William B. Rowe
Encyclopedia
William Bentley Rowe was an American artist and art educator who worked primarily in New York
and New Mexico
. He was a versatile artist who used a wide range of mediums with great success. He also executed several large murals. Rowe was a leading member of the Art Institute of Buffalo
. Other well known members of the Institute included Charles E. Burchfield
, Edwin Dickinson
, David Foster Pratt
, and Isaac Soyer
. However, Rowe was the driving-force behind the Art Institute’s development and growth during the nineteen thirties and forties.
, Illinois
in 1910. In 1913, he moved with his family to Buffalo, New York
. As a young man, he attended Cornell University
where he majored in architectural and fine arts. While at Cornell, he joined Kappa Sigma
fraternity in 1929. After graduating from college in 1932, he returned to Buffalo to begin his career as a professional artist.
In 1934, Rowe was commissioned to paint a 100 foot, multi-panel mural at Bennett High School in Buffalo. The project was supported by the Public Works of Art Project
(PWAP). The mural, called “New World Symphony,” was completed in 1935 and depicted the folk inspiration of American music. The work helped Rowe land the commission for an even larger PWAP mural in the Nurses’ Residence of the Buffalo Marine Hospital. When finished, the second mural was called “Old Buffalo of the Elegant Eighties and Nifty Nineties” or the “Buffalo and the Gay 90’s.” These two large works helped Rowe establish his reputation as a talented young artist.
Rowe went on to become a major figure in the Buffalo art community. In 1935, he began a cooperative studio where artists could share the costs of materials and exhibitions. However, his main efforts were aimed at developing the Art Institute of Buffalo. As a member of the faculty, he taught painting, theory and art history. Rowe was a popular teacher, but he was also a demanding instructor and a very tough critic of his student’s work. Many of his peers found him hard to deal with; nevertheless, he became director of the painting department in 1938, and in 1942 became president of the Art Institute’s board of directors. He continued to serve in these posts until 1945, and remained on the faculty until 1951.
In 1945, Rowe began making regular trips to Mexico
and the American southwest where he had many artist friends including Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros
and Santa Fe artists Joseph Bakos
and Walter Mruk. He finally settled in Taos, New Mexico
in 1951, and continued to paint in the Taos area until he was murdered in 1955. Rowe was a brilliant painter and a successful art educator. His untimely death at the relatively young age of 45 cut short a promising career.
Rowe had a vigorous realist style, but was always experimenting with new techniques and themes. In addition to his large murals, Rowe was particularly well known for landscapes. He won several painting and sculpture awards in the 1930s, and his works were exhibited in the 1939 New York World’s Fair
and San Francisco’s Golden Gate International Exposition
in 1939-1940.
Rowe’s art work is on public display and in private collections across the country. His works have been exhibited at major museums including the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Burchfield-Penny Art Center in Buffalo. The Smithsonian Institution, the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, the Albright Knox Gallery, the Syracuse Museum of Fine Art, and the Burchfield-Penny Art Center are among the museums that include Rowe’s works in their permanent collections. Today, William Rowe’s works are sold in commercial art galleries primarily in New York (Mexican Market) and the American southwest (Mexican Fiesta), and in national auctions as they become available.
While the Art Institute of Buffalo has passed into history, the influence of William Rowe on the Institute’s many alumni helped establish numerous successful modern artists in western New York. The Art Institute’s archives are now held by the Burchfield-Penney Art Center
which is part of Buffalo State College
. William Rowe’s personal papers are archived in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery
library in Buffalo.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. He was a versatile artist who used a wide range of mediums with great success. He also executed several large murals. Rowe was a leading member of the Art Institute of Buffalo
Art Institute of Buffalo
The Art Institute of Buffalo was an art school in Buffalo, New York. It opened its doors in 1931, and continued to produce graduates until the Institute closed in 1956. The faculty included a number of well-known artists...
. Other well known members of the Institute included Charles E. Burchfield
Charles E. Burchfield
Charles Ephraim Burchfield was an American painter and visionary artist, known for his passionate watercolors of nature scenes and townscapes...
, Edwin Dickinson
Edwin Dickinson
Edwin Walter Dickinson was an American painter and draftsman best known for psychologically charged self-portraits, quickly painted landscapes, which he called premier coups, and large, hauntingly enigmatic paintings involving figures and objects painted from observation, in which he invested his...
, David Foster Pratt
David Foster Pratt
David Foster Pratt was an American artist, art instructor and designer. He was best known for his watercolor and oil landscapes. Pratt served as the director of the Art Institute of Buffalo in the late 1940s and early 1950s. During his tenure at the Institute, he worked closely with Charles...
, and Isaac Soyer
Isaac Soyer
Isaac Soyer was a social realist painter and often portrayed working-class people of New York City in his paintings.-Biography:...
. However, Rowe was the driving-force behind the Art Institute’s development and growth during the nineteen thirties and forties.
Life
Rowe was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in 1910. In 1913, he moved with his family to Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. As a young man, he attended Cornell University
Cornell 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...
where he majored in architectural and fine arts. While at Cornell, he joined Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...
fraternity in 1929. After graduating from college in 1932, he returned to Buffalo to begin his career as a professional artist.
In 1934, Rowe was commissioned to paint a 100 foot, multi-panel mural at Bennett High School in Buffalo. The project was supported by the Public Works of Art Project
Public Works of Art Project
The Public Works of Art Project was a program to employ artists, as part of the New Deal, during the Great Depression. It was the first such program, running from December 1933 to June 1934...
(PWAP). The mural, called “New World Symphony,” was completed in 1935 and depicted the folk inspiration of American music. The work helped Rowe land the commission for an even larger PWAP mural in the Nurses’ Residence of the Buffalo Marine Hospital. When finished, the second mural was called “Old Buffalo of the Elegant Eighties and Nifty Nineties” or the “Buffalo and the Gay 90’s.” These two large works helped Rowe establish his reputation as a talented young artist.
Rowe went on to become a major figure in the Buffalo art community. In 1935, he began a cooperative studio where artists could share the costs of materials and exhibitions. However, his main efforts were aimed at developing the Art Institute of Buffalo. As a member of the faculty, he taught painting, theory and art history. Rowe was a popular teacher, but he was also a demanding instructor and a very tough critic of his student’s work. Many of his peers found him hard to deal with; nevertheless, he became director of the painting department in 1938, and in 1942 became president of the Art Institute’s board of directors. He continued to serve in these posts until 1945, and remained on the faculty until 1951.
In 1945, Rowe began making regular trips to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the American southwest where he had many artist friends including Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros
David Alfaro Siqueiros
José David Alfaro Siqueiros was a social realist painter, known for his large murals in fresco that helped establish the Mexican Mural Renaissance, together with works by Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, and also a member of the Mexican Communist Party who participated in an...
and Santa Fe artists Joseph Bakos
Joseph Bakos
Joseph Bakos was an American painter of Polish origin, mainly of western landscapes.Was one of Los Cinco Pintores who worked in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Bakos studied art with John E. Thompson at the Albright Art Institute in Buffalo, New York. He later followed Thompson to Colorado and taught at the...
and Walter Mruk. He finally settled in Taos, New Mexico
Taos, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2000 census, its population was 4,700. Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, and El Prado. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American...
in 1951, and continued to paint in the Taos area until he was murdered in 1955. Rowe was a brilliant painter and a successful art educator. His untimely death at the relatively young age of 45 cut short a promising career.
Art Work
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
and San Francisco’s Golden Gate International Exposition
Golden Gate International Exposition
The Golden Gate International Exposition , held at San Francisco, California's Treasure Island, was a World's Fair that celebrated, among other things, the city's two newly-built bridges. The San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge was dedicated in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge was dedicated in 1937...
in 1939-1940.
Rowe’s art work is on public display and in private collections across the country. His works have been exhibited at major museums including the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Burchfield-Penny Art Center in Buffalo. The Smithsonian Institution, the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, the Albright Knox Gallery, the Syracuse Museum of Fine Art, and the Burchfield-Penny Art Center are among the museums that include Rowe’s works in their permanent collections. Today, William Rowe’s works are sold in commercial art galleries primarily in New York (Mexican Market) and the American southwest (Mexican Fiesta), and in national auctions as they become available.
Influence
William Rowe strongly advocated the idea of a democratic art organization. He believed an art institute should be “a school, a gallery, a meeting place for artists, art students and the public with no discrimination and no competition, encouraging maximum freedom of self-expression.” The Art Institute of Buffalo was founded in 1931, and was dedicated to the proposition that art is the province of everyone. The Art Institute was regarded by many local observers as a Bohemianism artist colony, and many artists who participated in the institute agree with that view. Without William Rowe’s dedication and drive behind it, the Art Institute of Buffalo lost its creative momentum, eventually closing in 1956.While the Art Institute of Buffalo has passed into history, the influence of William Rowe on the Institute’s many alumni helped establish numerous successful modern artists in western New York. The Art Institute’s archives are now held by the Burchfield-Penney Art Center
Burchfield-Penney Art Center
The Burchfield Penney Art Center is located on the campus of Buffalo State College and was founded in 1966. Dedicated to the art and vision of Charles E. Burchfield and distinguished artists of Buffalo, Niagara and Western New York...
which is part of Buffalo State College
Buffalo State College
The State University of New York College at Buffalo, referred to as Buffalo State College, often referred to colloquially as Buff State, is a public, liberal arts college in Buffalo, New York, United States and is part of the State University of New York. Buffalo State was founded in 1871 as the...
. William Rowe’s personal papers are archived in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is an art museum located in Delaware Park in Buffalo, New York. The gallery is a major showplace for modern art and contemporary art. It is located directly across the street from Buffalo State College.-History:...
library in Buffalo.
