Born March 8, 1884, in homestead shanty 3 miles S. ½ mile E. to Thomas and Bersha Dunn, was
one of three children. From rural school he entered State College, Brookings, in 1901 to study
art under Ada B. Caldwell, of whom he wrote: 'She took a loving, intelligent interest in what I
was vaguely searching for...with my eyes on the horizon she taught me where to put my feet.'
He attended Art Institute, Chicago, 1902-04, and then studied two years under Howard Pyle,
great illustrator, opening his own studio at Leonia, N.J., in 1906. He married Johanna Krebs in
1908. Success as an illustrator was immediate; he was also dedicated to teaching. A fellow
artist said 'The most valuable thing Dunn taught us was honest dealing with our fellow man and
a constant gratitude to the Maker above for the privilege of seeing the sun cast shadows.'
Official A.E.F. artist in World War I, he painted many war scenes. He was elected to the
National Academy of Design, among other honors. A painter of Westerns, marines and portraits.
In 1950 he gave to the people of South Dakota, to hang at State College, a collection that
included pioneering subjects, saying 'my search for other horizons led me around to my first.'
He died October 29, 1952.
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