Background
Arthur Dove was born on August 2, 1880 in Canandaigua, New York, United States. He was a son of William George, the owner of a brickyard, and Anna Elizabeth.
300 Pulteney St, Geneva, NY 14456, США
Arthur Dove studied at Hobart College (present-day Hobart and William Smith Colleges).
Ithaca, New York 14850, United States
In 1903, the artist graduated from Cornell University.
Arthur Dove was born on August 2, 1880 in Canandaigua, New York, United States. He was a son of William George, the owner of a brickyard, and Anna Elizabeth.
Arthur Dove studied at Hobart College (present-day Hobart and William Smith Colleges) and then at Cornell University, graduating from the latter in 1903. Also, the artist illustrated the Cornell University yearbook at the time of his studies.
Arthur Dove started his career as a magazine illustrator in 1903 after graduation from Cornell University. He worked for Harper’s magazine and the Saturday Evening Post. This occupation would supply his livelihood until 1930, when he was able to devote all of his time to painting.
In 1907, Dove joined the painters Alfred Maurer and Arthur Beecher Carles, Jr., on a trip to Europe. Arthur spent most of his time in Paris, where he saw the art of the Fauves and was particularly impressed by the work of Henri Matisse. At that time, Dove exhibited in the Salon d'Automne in 1908 and 1909. Also, in Paris, he befriended many other American artists, including Max Weber and Alfred Maurer.
In 1909, after his enlightening experience abroad, the artist came back to New York, where he was introduced via letter to American artist Alfred Stieglitz. In the United States, Dove continued to paint in an essentially impressionistic manner, though moving more and more toward abstraction. His works from that period closely resembled Wassily Kandinsky's first abstractions, although there was no possibility of an influence since both artists were working along the same lines at about the same time. In his paintings, Arthur sought to project the essence of nature by ridding forms of extraneous detail and emphasizing rhythms. He replaced bulk with pattern, heightened and modified color, and simplified contours.
In 1911, Dove exhibited his Parisian works in a group show at Alfred Stieglitz's gallery in New York City. The following year, he had his first one-man show there, exhibiting ten of his abstract canvases.
In the 1920's, Dove separated from his first wife, Florence Dove, and moved to Long Island, where he concentrated on his painting. His numerous works from that period focus on the abstract rhythms of the sea and shore, subjects, that suggest mystical undertones. In 1922, the artist met Duncan Phillips, who became his patron. However, Arthur never found solid financial ground.
Around the late 1930's, Dove suffered from both heart disease and Bright’s disease. In 1946, he had his final show at the 291 gallery, which featured nine paintings. Partially paralyzed, he continued to paint with the help of his second wife, Helen Torr, until he passed away.
Lake Afternoon
The Critic
Red Sun
Based on Leaf Forms and Spaces
Foghorns
Fields of Grain as Seen from Train
Portrait of Ralph Dusenberry
Nature Symbolized (or Reefs)
Indian Summer
Morning Sun
Sentimental Music
The Intellectual
Me and the Moon
Clouds and Water
Storm Clouds
Nature Symbolized
Goat
Sails
Sun
Sunrise
Cow
Tree
Tanks
Dove believed, that colour and form are instruments with which one can express the essence beneath the physical exterior of things.
Quotations:
"We cannot express the light in nature because we have not the sun. We can only express the light we have in ourselves."
"I look at nature, I see myself. Paintings are mirrors, so is nature."
"It is the form the idea takes in the imagination rather than the form as it exists outside."
"How do you feel about a person when you're talking over the phone? If you know them, or if you don't know them, do you get something, do you put that into words of your own, from what they say, or from what you think? Or if it were music over the radio, have you ever tried to think how it would look?"
"I would like to make something that is real in itself that does not remind anyone of any other things, and that does not have to be explained like the letter A, for instance."
"It is hard for a flat thing to understand a round one."
"I should like to take the wind and water and sand as a motif and work with them, but it has to be simplified in most cases to colour and force lines, just as music has done with sound."
Arthur's father was interested in politics, and named him Arthur Garfield, after the Republican candidates for President and Vice-President in the 1880 election, James Garfield and Chester Arthur, who ultimately won the vote.
Florence Dove was Arthur's first wife. Their marriage produced one son, William C. Dove, who was born on July 4, 1909. After 25 years of marriage, Dove left Florence. In April 1932, Dove married Helen Torr, a painter, with whom he spent seven years on a houseboat called "Mona" earlier.