This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  A painter with a long and productive career, Leon Dabo was known for
his atmospheric, tonalist paintings, especially of the Hudson and East
rivers in New York City in early morning and sunset times of
day---"silent, introspective times of day that appealed to the Tonalist
sensibility. . . he emphasized gentle nuances of light and
atmosphere, luminous color effects, and an innovative handling of
space". (Lowrey 124) Dabo also painted floral still lifes,
and in the 1920s became a lecturer on art education and on specific
artists including John La Farge and James Whistler.
Newly discovered research, verified by scholars at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, has shown that Leon Dabo was born in France in 1865 and
not as previously thought in Detroit in 1868. His father
was Ignace Scott, an artist specializing in architectural
decoration. Dabo grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and was an
apprentice to his father before going to New York City, where he worked
for J. & R. Lamb studios and associated with John La Farge, painter
and muralist.
In 1886, Dabo went to Paris where, using letters of introduction
provided by La Farge, met leading artists. He studied with Daniel
Vierge and Pierre Galland, and at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs,
Academie Julian and the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He also went to
Italy and London, where it is thought he spent time with James Mc Neill
Whistler in his studio. In subsequent paintings, Dabo
reflected Whistler's influence including his philosophy of 'art for
art's sake', his tonalist style, and his use of a monogram as a
signature. Dabo later considered himself an expert on
documenting Whistler's paintings, as did others, and Dabo became
an authenticator and published writer work by Whistler.
In 1892, Dabo returned to New York City. He took up his former
career of architectural decorator and muralist of public and religious
buildings. He also painted river scenes, initially working in an
inhibited-seeming academic manner but then loosening up in what was
then regarded as modernist influences. Among those artists
whose work had an effect on him in addition to Whistler were French
Impressionists and Japanese painters such as Hiroshige and
Hokusai.
Dabo's painting career ascended in 1905, when
the National Arts Club, of which he was a member, sponsored a solo
exhibition of his work, which critics generally praised and which
brought him public attention. Prominent collector and
Tonalist enthusiast William T. Evans purchased some of Dabo's
paintings, which conveyed special distinction. In 1910, he
participated in the "Independents" exhibit organized by The Eight in
New York City, and in 1913, as a member of The Society of Painters and
Sculptors, was one of the principle organizers of the New York City
Armory Show that introduced modernist art from Europe to the United
States.
He was a member of the National Academy of Design, Scholastic Art
League and Brooklyn Society of Artists. In 1917, Dabo was
commissioned and sent to France in the A.E.F. Corps of
Interpreters. In France he also received the Chevalier Legion of
Honor award.
Dabo lectured on art at the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, and at Columbia University in the 1920s, and in 1933 exhibited his
flower painting and pastels at Knoedler Gallery, New York. The New York Times
in its review stated that these paintings were "a distinct contribution
to be associated with the flower harmonies of Odilon Redon and of
Fantin-Latour." (Falk)
In 1944 in his 79th year, Dabo was
elected full Academician of The National Academy of Design.
He painted until his ninetieth year, and in 1960 died in New York City
on November 7th.
Sources:
Carol Lowrey, 'Leon Dabo', The Poetic Vision: American Tonalism, p. 124
Peter Falk, Who Was Who in American Art, p. 808
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Biography from Stillwell House Antiques:
|  Leon Dabo (1865-1960)
Painter, muralist and lithographer, a distinguished artist known to museums, curators and collectors worldwide. An American artist born in France, Dabo’s active career in art extended over a period of 80 years. He painted both in New York and France between the two world wars. He studied with some of the most influential painters of his day, John La Farge, Puvis de Chavannes, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler.
Dabo’s first teacher in New York City was John La Farge [1835-1910] where he followed La Farge’s artistic philosophy, that art should embody “more than a mere representation of external appearances,” that views of nature should transcend the physical and appeal to ones emotion. La Farge is also credited with Dabo’s introduction to flower painting.
In his early years in Paris, Dabo was a protégé of the renowned painter and muralist Puvis de Chavannes [1824-1898] many of his early landscapes owe much to his mentor in muted tonality, and evoking a dreamy quiet mood. In 1888 Dabo settled in London where he associated with such artistic personalities as James McNeill Whistler, Walter Sickert, George Bernard Shaw, Alvin Langdon Coburn, among others. But it was James McNeill Whistler [1834-1903] who had a profound and lasting influence on Dabo’s art. He closely followed Whistler’s theory of “Art for Art’s sake,” showing the close relationship between the soft, tonal quality of color with the careful placement of composition into decorative and harmonious elements.
Dabo was involved with and participated in two of the major events in the American Art scene; the Independents of 1910, and the Armory Show of 1913. His travels abroad between 1917-1920 as a member of the American financial Mission to the Allies, allowed him to meet other important artist’s of the day, and to study their work.
Dabo was commissioned by the Army’s Fourth Division under Major General Mark L. Hersey to execute five paintings depicting landscapes of historic sites during the first World War. Dabo continued to paint and exhibit in this country and Europe until his death in 1960, where he strove to realize new color sensations, mastering his use of light, texture and atmosphere.
His works are owned by over forty museums in this country and abroad, among them:
The National Museum of American Art Washington D.C. Evening on the Hudson
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Cloud, New York Harbor from the Jersey Shore, Marine
Musee D’Orsay, Paris, France Moore Park
The Musee de Lourve, Paris, France, Citadel
During his life he was awarded the Cross of Knight of the French Legion of Honor for his contribution to art. He was a member of the National Academy of Design New York; Societe National des Beaux Arts, Paris; Societe des Amis des Arts, Versailles; Allied Artists Association, London; President of The Pastellists, New York; The New York Historical Society; Four Arts Society, New York; University Club, Paris; Association of Italian Artists, Florence, Italy; and a Life Member of the National Arts Club, New York.
Dr Kevin Avery, associate curator in the department of American Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, wrote in a museum catalogue in 1999:
“No landscape painter associated with Tonalism aligned himself so unmistakeably and consistently with Whistler than did Leon Dabo.”
The New York Times in it’s review of his Floral Etudes, drawings, and Pastels at M. Knoedler Company, New York City in 1933, wrote:
“A distinct contribution to be associated with the flower harmonies of Odilon Redon and of Fantin-Latour.”
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Leon Dabo is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
New York Armory Show of 1913
San Francisco Panama-Pacific Exhibition 1915
Tonalism
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