Allen Atwell (1925–1993) was an accomplished painter, educator, and visionary artist, whose career spanned over four decades. A faculty member at Cornell University for much of his life, Atwell was deeply influenced by Eastern religious philosophies, natural forms, and the exploration of the mind's perception, spirituality, and light. His artwork, which ranged across various media and scales—including total environments—consistently reflected his intellectual curiosity and spiritual exploration. The development of yogic concentration and its connection to the act of image-making was a core theme in his work, as he sought to convey transcendence and altered states of consciousness. Born in Pittsburgh and raised in the pastoral town of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, Atwell’s early life was shaped by a strong connection to nature. His father, an electrical engineer at Westinghouse, supported his artistic interests from a young age. Atwell became a naturalist and a Boy Scout troop leader on the Mellon Estate, often visiting the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art to deepen his understanding of art and culture. This early immersion in both nature and the arts would influence much of his later work. A pivotal moment in Atwell’s early life occurred in 1943 during his first semester at Cornell, when he encountered a peregrine falcon in Taughannock State Park. Positioned on a ledge to observe the bird, he was struck by the falcon in a dramatic dive, knocking him unconscious and giving him his first out-of-body experience. This event marked the beginning of his exploration into altered states of consciousness, a theme that would resonate throughout his later work.In 1943, Atwell was rejected from military service due to his age, but he enrolled at Cornell University to study ornithology. In 1944, he was accepted into the Army Air Force, trained as a radio operator, and was sent to China via India. By the time he arrived, World War II was ending, and his mission shifted from combat to preventing the capture of U.S. assets by Chinese Communists. This experience in Asia sparked a lifelong interest in Eastern culture, yoga, and transcendence, shaping both his art and philosophy. After returning from military service in 1946, Atwell enrolled at Cornell on the GI Bill, where he majored in fine arts in the College of Architecture. He earned his BFA in 1949 and his MFA in 1951. During his studies, Atwell developed a unique approach to art that focused on internal imagery rather than external reference, a concept he called "projective vision," inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s observations on the use of stains on walls to evoke imagery. Atwell was initially drawn to Surrealism, Cubism, and the works of European Old Masters, including Bosch and Cézanne. His work was further shaped by his professors, particularly Joseph Hanson, who gave him a strong foundation in classical Western techniques, and Stella Kramrisch, who mentored him in Asian art traditions.Atwell's early career was marked by an interest in Abstract Expressionism, especially in its emphasis on the unconscious as a source of imagery, though he maintained a careful, methodical approach to his work. He was particularly fascinated by Eastern iconography and the geometry of the Tibetan mandala, which he incorporated into his art as a representation of sacred space.Atwell joined the Cornell faculty in 1952 as an instructor and became an Associate Professor in 1962. He made a significant impact on campus life in 1959, organizing the first "Dragon Day" event at Cornell, where he and architecture students painted a massive dragon on the construction fence surrounding Olin Library. This dragon, which became a recurring symbol at Cornell, was emblematic of Atwell's influence on the university's creative culture. During this period, Atwell received several prestigious fellowships, including a Ford Foundation Fellowship to India in 1953, a Fulbright Fellowship to India and Nepal in 1961, and a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship to Southeast Asia, India, and Japan in 1962-63, deepening his engagement with Eastern traditions.By the mid-1960s, Atwell became increasingly involved with the counterculture movement. He was invited to speak at the Castalia Foundation in Millbrook, New York, where Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert, and Ralph Metzner were exploring the use of hallucinogens in pursuit of transcendence. Atwell’s talk on transcendent states was followed by an offer to experience LSD, an encounter that profoundly influenced his artistic vision. Having already studied meditation and altered states of consciousness, Atwell saw this experience as a natural extension of his work. It culminated in the creation of Psychedelic Temple, an immersive painting on the walls of a townhouse at 16 East 71st Street in Manhattan, which became iconic within the psychedelic art movement. Atwell’s work was celebrated by contemporary artists and intellectuals, including Salvador Dalí, Paul Desmond, Allen Ginsburg, and Andy Warhol. During the 1964-65 academic year, he headed the Cornell University Extension Program in New York City, further establishing his reputation as a visionary artist. Despite growing recognition, Atwell resigned from Cornell in 1965 to dedicate himself fully to his art. He continued to work and teach in Ithaca, where he found a converted barn on Tioga Street, which served as his studio for the next 18 years.In 1971, Atwell began teaching at Ithaca College and continued to exhibit widely, including a significant show in 1972 at the Haus der Kunst in Munich as part of the World Cultures and Modern Art exhibition during the Munich Olympics. In the 1970s, his artistic focus shifted to Mexican and Mesoamerican art, leading to a teaching position at the Instituto Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico, in 1973.In 1988, Atwell relocated to Hawaii, where he spent the last years of his life drawing and painting in relative isolation. He continued to work in Nuuanu on Oahu, producing art that reflected his lifelong engagement with nature, Eastern philosophies, and the exploration of consciousness. He passed away in 1993. Atwell’s artistic legacy is marked by his visionary approach to painting and his deep engagement with the exploration of perception, spirituality, and the mind’s potential for transcendence. His work remains influential, particularly in the context of the psychedelic art movement, and his contributions to the integration of Eastern philosophy into contemporary art continue to resonate today.