Alon Bement taught Georgia O'Keeffe the principles of Arthur Wesley Dow after she left conventional art training.
In 1912, O'Keeffe studied with Alon Bement at the University of Virginia's summer school. Bement introduced her to the ideas of Arthur Wesley Dow, an influential teacher who emphasized composition, line, tone, and the expressive arrangement of forms.
Dow's approach offered O'Keeffe an alternative to the strict imitation of nature that dominated much academic instruction. She began experimenting with abstract compositions and later produced a series of charcoal drawings that became central to her early breakthrough.
William Merritt Chase was also one of O'Keeffe's teachers, but he taught her earlier at the Art Students League in New York. The two names belong to different stages of her education and should not be treated as interchangeable.