Alon Bement encouraged Georgia O'Keeffe's move toward abstraction at the University of Virginia.
Bement taught at the University of Virginia summer school, where O'Keeffe studied in the 1910s. His teaching introduced ideas associated with Arthur Wesley Dow, who emphasized composition, line, color, and personal expression rather than copying nature exactly. These ideas helped O'Keeffe reconsider the academic methods she had learned earlier.
O'Keeffe had already received substantial traditional training, but she became dissatisfied with producing work that merely followed established formulas. The influence of Bement and Dow gave her a framework for exploring simplified forms and expressive arrangements. She began making abstract charcoal drawings in 1915, a decisive step in her career.
Bement is sometimes overlooked because Dow became the better-known name in accounts of O'Keeffe's artistic development. Bement nevertheless served as the direct teacher who connected her with Dow's ideas during her time at Virginia.