Alon Bement taught Georgia O'Keeffe the influential art principles of Arthur Wesley Dow.
Bement was an educator at Teachers College, Columbia University, where O'Keeffe studied in New York. He introduced her to the ideas of Arthur Wesley Dow, a major influence on her understanding of composition and artistic structure.
Dow argued that art could be built through harmonious relationships among line, color, and tone rather than through literal imitation. O'Keeffe later used these principles in both abstract and representational works, giving her a framework for turning observed forms into highly personal compositions.
A frequent mix-up is crediting Dow himself as O'Keeffe's direct classroom instructor during this stage. Dow's ideas reached her through Bement, while O'Keeffe also studied with Dow at the University of Virginia's summer program in 1912. This distinction matters because Bement was the teacher who first brought Dow's methods to her attention.