Robert Dowd
| Robert Dowd | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 1936 Detroit, Michigan |
| Died | 1996 Los Angeles, California |
| Education | Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan |
| Known for | Painting, Sculpture |
| Movement | Pop Art |
Robert Dowd (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1936–1996) was an American artist, who also painted under the name Robert O'Dowd.
After his discharge from the U.S. Marines in 1957 he entered the Society of Arts and Crafts/Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan where he studied painting with Sarkis Sarkisian. In 1958-59 he began drawing common objects, including 'Stop' signs. His work first appeared in an Art In America article by Robert Broner on the "Young Artists Group" in Detroit. In 1960 he moved to San Francisco and began work on his first images of postage stamps. In 1961 he moved to Los Angeles and began work on his currency paintings. By 1962 he was getting attention for his ground breaking paintings of common objects. Around the country several other artists were experimenting with this new concept and in 1962 he was invited to show his work at the Pasadena Art Museum.
In 1962 Dowd's work was included, along with Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Jim Dine, Phillip Hefferton, Joe Goode, Edward Ruscha, and Wayne Thiebaud, in the historically important and ground-breaking New Painting of Common Objects, curated by Walter Hopps at the Pasadena Art Museum. This exhibition is historically considered the first "Pop Art" Exhibition in America. These painters started a movement, in a time of social unrest, which shocked America and the Art world and changed Art forever, "Pop Art".
The 1960s were a time of social unrest. Hoover's FBI and the government thought anybody who was anti-establishment should be investigated and persecuted despite the right of freedom of expression. Unfortunately for Dowd his fascination with painting currency caught the attention of the Secret Service. Painting currency in those days was considered counterfeiting even if intended as a spoof. Dowd explains what happened in an interview with Lynn Pyne:
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