Lamar Dodd
Encyclopedia
Lamar Dodd was a U.S. painter whose work reflected a love of the American South.
to Rev. Francis Jefferson Dodd and Etta Cleveland (Ed Dodd
, creator of the Mark Trail
comic strip
, was his first cousin), and reared in LaGrange, Georgia
, Dodd trained in the South, including a short stay at Georgia Tech
in Atlanta.
before traveling to New York City
to study under advocates of the Ashcan School
of painting as well as to gain a nativist perspective from the paintings of artists such as Thomas Hart Benton
. He returned to Birmingham, Alabama
determined to champion local art. Over a long and productive career his styles encompassed naturalism
and expressionism
and extended to abstract art
.
Dodd was also a university teacher and administrator. Appointed as an artist in residence at University of Georgia
in Athens
in 1937, he became the head of the art department several years later. Dodd consolidated art instruction into a unified department and initiated a master's degree program. The Lamar Dodd School of Art
at the University of Georgia is named in his memory. Was a member of the Sigma Chi
Fraternity.
Early life and education
Born in Fairburn, GeorgiaFairburn, Georgia
Fairburn is a city in Fulton County, Georgia. The population was 12,950 at the 2010 census.- History :Fairburn is located along a railroad line and was once the county seat for Campbell County, Georgia, starting in 1870...
to Rev. Francis Jefferson Dodd and Etta Cleveland (Ed Dodd
Ed Dodd
Edward Benton Dodd was a 20th century American cartoonist known for his Mark Trail comic strip.-Early years:...
, creator of the Mark Trail
Mark Trail
Mark Trail is a newspaper comic strip created by the American cartoonist Ed Dodd. Introduced April 15, 1946, the strip centers on environmental and ecological themes. In 2006, King Features syndicated the strip to nearly 175 newspapers....
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, was his first cousin), and reared in LaGrange, Georgia
LaGrange, Georgia
LaGrange is a city in Troup County, Georgia, United States. It is named after the country estate near Paris of the Marquis de La Fayette, who visited the area in 1825. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census...
, Dodd trained in the South, including a short stay at Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
in Atlanta.
Career
He taught art in AlabamaAlabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
before traveling to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to study under advocates of the Ashcan School
Ashcan School
The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, is defined as a realist artistic movement that came into prominence in the United States during the early twentieth century, best known for works portraying scenes of daily life in New York's poorer neighborhoods. The movement grew out of a group...
of painting as well as to gain a nativist perspective from the paintings of artists such as Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (painter)
Thomas Hart Benton was an American painter and muralist. Along with Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry, he was at the forefront of the Regionalist art movement. His fluid, almost sculpted paintings showed everyday scenes of life in the United States...
. He returned to Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
determined to champion local art. Over a long and productive career his styles encompassed naturalism
Naturalism (art)
Naturalism in art refers to the depiction of realistic objects in a natural setting. The Realism movement of the 19th century advocated naturalism in reaction to the stylized and idealized depictions of subjects in Romanticism, but many painters have adopted a similar approach over the centuries...
and expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
and extended to abstract art
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
.
Dodd was also a university teacher and administrator. Appointed as an artist in residence at University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
in Athens
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
in 1937, he became the head of the art department several years later. Dodd consolidated art instruction into a unified department and initiated a master's degree program. The Lamar Dodd School of Art
Lamar Dodd School of Art
The Lamar Dodd School of Art is the art school of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States.-History:...
at the University of Georgia is named in his memory. Was a member of the Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
Fraternity.
External links
- Lamar Dodd School of Art website
- Lamar Dodd at the New Georgia EncyclopediaNew Georgia EncyclopediaThe New Georgia Encyclopedia is a web-based encyclopedia containing over 2,000 articles about the state of Georgia.The Georgia Humanities Council, the Office of the Governor of Georgia, the University of Georgia Press, and the University System of Georgia/GALILEO have collaborated in the funding...