Doel Reed
Birth Date: May 21, 1894
Death Date: September 3, 1985
Artist Gallery
Doel Reed was born in Logansport, Indiana in 1895 and raised in Indianapolis. As a child he attended the children’s Saturday art classes at the John Herron Museum in Indianapolis. He had a childhood experience where on one of the docent tours he came upon a large painting of a shipwreck with sirens or mermaids in the water around the beleaguered ship (Reed was unsure of the artist, thought perhaps it was a German artist). However, he thought the water flowing off the shoulders of the women was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The childhood memory of that particular painting gave him his first interest in the human figure where the round, flowing, monumental female figures in this painting is what he became known for. His original studies were architecture but in 1916 his interest in fine arts led him to enroll in the Cincinnati Art Academy. His studies were interrupted the following year when he went to France to serve in World War I. He was temporarily blinded when he was gassed and spent several months in a base hospital in France. When he was discharged from the service Reed returned to the Art Academy for another year studying with James R. Hopkins, H. H. Wessel and L. H. Meakin. It was under Meakin that Doel Reed had his only formal training in the graphic arts. The schools for graphic arts were few so it was left to Reed to study the aquatints of Francisco Goya and fellow artist in order to teach himself through trial and error the art of printmaking. In 1952, Reed was elected to membership in the National Academy of Design for graphic arts and was considered to be a premier printmaker. In addition to printmaking, Doel Reed worked in casein and oils and produced many mixed media and charcoal drawings. In 1924 he began a thirty five year teaching career as the head of the art department at Oklahoma State University. He took a leave of absence from 1926-1930 to study in France. Upon retirement, he moved to Taos, New Mexico, where he lived and worked for twenty-six years. The drama of the landscape suited him. Reed always remained true to his own ideas and never followed any of the art trends that were fashionable at the time.