Russell Cowles was a painter and muralist whose still lifes and landscapes blended abstraction with elements of American realism and regionalism. Born in Algona, Iowa, Cowles was encouraged to pursue art from an early age by his mother, who was also an artist. After graduating from Dartmouth College, he studied painting in Paris and Rome. Despite his classical education, Cowles asserted, “I don’t think my work is either academic or conventional. It is American and modern because I am American and modern.”
