Which artist encouraged Georgia O'Keeffe to pursue art through his teaching?

Arthur Wesley Dow encouraged Georgia O'Keeffe to pursue art through his teaching.

O'Keeffe encountered Dow's ideas while studying at the University of Virginia's summer school in 1912. His approach emphasized composition, line, color, and design rather than copying appearances exactly. That emphasis gave her a way to think about art as an arrangement of visual elements, not merely a realistic transcription.

Dow was an influential American art educator whose teaching drew on Japanese art and broader principles of design. O'Keeffe later said that his instruction helped her find a personal method of expression. His influence can be seen in the importance she gave to simplified forms and carefully organized compositions.

This influence should not be confused with the role of Alfred Stieglitz, who later exhibited O'Keeffe's work and became her husband. Dow shaped her artistic development as a teacher; Stieglitz promoted her work in the New York art world.