Olin Dows Collection

Olin Dows (1904-1981) was a famed artist from Rhinebeck, NY. Dows studied at Harvard University and the Yale School of Fine Arts and, significantly, spent the summer of 1929 in Mexico where he met with such luminaries as Diego Rivera and Dr. Atl. In the early-1930’s, Dows became involved in Federal relief efforts for the arts through his connection to Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was appointed Director of the Treasury Relief Art Project, funded by the Works Progress Administration in 1935. Dows was commissioned to paint a series of murals in the Rhinebeck Post Office in 1939, and in 1941, at the suggestion of President Roosevelt, he painted the murals in the Hyde Park Post Office as well.