Alon Bement became Georgia O'Keeffe's influential teacher at the University of Virginia in 1912. Bement was associated with the ideas of Arthur Wesley Dow, whose approach emphasized composition, line, color, and personal expression.
O'Keeffe worked as an art teacher in Virginia after her formal student years. Bement introduced her to Dow's principles, which offered an alternative to the strict realism and academic copying that had dominated much of her earlier training.
Dow's ideas helped O'Keeffe simplify forms and organize images through visual relationships rather than literal description. This influence became especially important as she began producing abstract charcoal drawings in 1915.
William Merritt Chase was also a significant teacher in O'Keeffe's education, but he taught her earlier at the Art Students League in New York. Bement is the teacher specifically connected with her 1912 work at Virginia.