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Drewelowe, Eve, 1899-1988

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1899 - 1988

Biography

Eve Drewelowe was born Eva Drewlow in New Hampton, Iowa, in 1899. Drewelowe graduated from New Hampton High School in 1919 and attended the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa), where she received a BA in Graphic and Plastic Arts in 1923. Drewelowe petitioned the University to establish an MA degree for her course of study. In 1924, she became the first person to receive an MA in art from the University of Iowa, earning the degree in Graphic and Plastic Arts by studying painting with Charles A. Cumming and art history with Charles Weller; she was one of the first people to receive such a degree in the nation.

In 1923, Drewelowe married Jacob Van Ek, a fellow student at the University of Iowa. In 1924, Van Ek became an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and went on to become Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Van Eks toured Europe and Asia on grants that allowed Van Ek to study nationalism in emerging nations.

Drewelowe exhibited under the name Eve Drewelowe Van Ek until the early 1950s, when she resumed using her maiden name. She exhibited in nearly a dozen states and was a founding member of the Boulder Arts Guild. Her work was shown at National Association of Women Artists exhibitions, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Denver Art Museum, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Drewelowe reinvented her art throughout her life and her work reflects various styles that emerged in the twentieth century. In 1979, she received the University of Iowa Distinguished Alumni Service Award. In 1981, Drewelowe received a grant from the City of Boulder, Colorado, to reproduce in acrylic paintings of the surrounding landscape she had originally created in watercolor during the 1930s. Eve Drewelowe died in 1988.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Eve Drewelowe papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0135
Abstract

Artist who attended the State University of Iowa and in 1924 became the first person to receive a masters degree in Painting and Art History.

Dates: 1910-1996