Arthur Dove American, 1880-1946

Arthur Garfield Dove was an early American modernist painter. After finishing his studies at Cornell University, Dove worked as an illustrator for magazines such as Harper’s Magazine and The Saturday Evening Post in New York City. In 1907, Dove and his first wife Florence moved to Paris. They took frequent trips all over Europe which installed a modern sensibility in Dove’s practise, with a particular interest in the Fauvist movement. Dove became close friends with a group of experimental American artists, in particular the painter Alfred Maurer who would become a life long friend. 

On his return to New York, a dissatisfaction began to grow with his work as an illustrator. Eventually Dove moved to the countryside where, working as a farmer and fisherman, he began his work on what would later be described as America’s first abstract paintings. “Extractions”, as he put it, simplified shapes seen in nature into abstract forms. Under the helm of Alfred Stieglitz at 291 Gallery, a group of other pioneering artists including Dove, would directly impact the major American art movements of the 20th century. The initial European influence began to evolve into a completely American vision of art, which has undergone a major re-evaluation over the last decade.

Dove’s work, though ground breaking in its day, still shares a contemporary sensibility. Comparisons can be drawn with the dramatic shifts the turn of the century and industrial revolutions had in that period with what we are experiencing today.