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The casual pose of the portrait allows Love's personality to emerge.

The setting may have been a studio in the newly formed Indiana School of Art, the state's first art school.

Bates and Love settled in Indianapolis after studying together in Paris.

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Dewey Bates

Portrait of John Washington Love, 1878

oil on canvas

22 x 16 inches

Gift of Mrs. C. D. Johnson

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Very little is written about Dewey Bates’ life and career.  He was born in Philadelphia and received his art training in Antwerp, Paris and London.  His move to Indiana was probably influenced by his Indianapolis relatives and his friendship with John Washington Love, who had been a fellow student in Paris. Both artists arrived in Indianapolis in 1876. Bates and Love, along with James Gookins helped establish the first Indiana School of Art in 1877. The school was short-lived and closed after only two years. 

The friendship between Bates and Love is apparent in the inscription on this portrait which reads, “a mon ami, John Love” (to my friend, John Love).  Bates places his subject in a room that is probably an artist’s studio, possible part of the newly formed Indiana School of Art. The sitter’s casual pose is enhanced by his outdoor attire and posture and the dog that sits beside the chair gazing up at him. 

Reference

The little information available on Dewey Bates can be found in the artist’s file at the Indianapolis Museum of Art Stout Library.