Dowden, Anne Ophelia Todd 1907-2007 (Anne Ophelia Todd)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for SATA sketch: Born September 17, 1907, in Denver, CO; died January 11, 2007, in Boulder, CO. Artist, educator, and author. Dowden was a renowned botanical artist and nature illustrator. Born near the Rocky Mountains, she gained an early love of nature and began drawing as a child. By the time she was a teenager, her skills were such that her father, a pathologist at the University of Colorado, enlisted her skills to create medical illustrations. For her formal education, Dowd attended what is now Carnegie-Mellon University, earning a B.A. in 1930. She also studied at the Art Students League of New York City and the Beaux Arts Institute of Design. In 1930, she tried to launch a career in book illustration but, meeting with no luck in this area, she instead found work as a drawing instructor at New York's Pratt Institute. Dowd next taught at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, where she was art department chair from 1932 until 1953. After retirement, her initial desire to be a book illustrator was realized. She earned commissions from various magazines and in 1961 released her first self-illustrated title, The Little Hill: A Chronicle of Flora on a Half Acre at the Green Camp. She went on to write and illustrate a dozen books, as well as illustrating books by other authors. Specializing in publications for children and young adults, Dowd's books earned awards from library and teaching associations. The Blossom on the Bough: A Book of Trees (1975), her most honored work, was named a National Science Teachers Association outstanding science book for children, a notable book by the American Library Association, and a Children's Book Council showcase selection. Known for the realistic accuracy of her drawings of flowers, birds, insects, and other plants and creatures, Dowd also had her work exhibited around the country, including at the Smithsonian Institution, the Denver Art Museum, and the New York City Public Library.

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PERIODICALS

New York Times, January 16, 2007, p. A29.