Arthur G. Dove (1880-1946)

Swans

Details

Arthur G. Dove (1880-1946)
Swans
signed 'Dove' (lower center)
watercolor and ink on paper
5 x 6 ½ in. (12.7 x 16.5 cm.)
Executed circa 1940.

Provenance

An American Place, New York, by 1943.
Private collection, New York.
Christie's, New York, 28 September 1983, lot 85.
Private collection, New York, acquired from the above.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Brought to you by

Elizabeth Beaman

ebeaman@christies.com 212-636-2140

Lot Essay

As seen through the sense of personality embodied by the swans in the present work, Arthur Dove "believed that everything in the world was a living, vital presence, and once said that 'we cannot let a person control our thoughts who does not let the lower orders in. Animals, fish and birds have as much right to any spiritual royalty as any intellectual.'" (B. Haskell, Arthur Dove, San Francisco, California, 1974, p. 118) A very similar watercolor is in The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.

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