Information on Arthur Dove American, 1880−1946 The Brothers, 1942 Tempera and wax emulsion on canvas, 20 x 28 in. Gift of Robert L. B. Tobin through the Friends of the McNay 1962.3

Subject Matter In May 1939, Arthur Dove wrote to his friend and art dealer Alfred Stieglitz, “Am getting some new directions, so we think.” These “new directions” culminated in The Brothers, a painting that emphasizes hard-edged geometric forms rather than Dove’s characteristic amorphous shapes inspired by nature.

On the left, two triangles placed side-by-side form a diamond (or parallelogram) shape; the left triangle is bluish-white, while the right triangle is creamy white. What seem to be two sides of a yellow cube overlap the diamond’s top point. This parallelogram sits against a dark blue-gray rectangular background. Towards the center of the painting, a small dark orange triangle rests halfway above the diamond’s right point and outer edge. Behind the left point of this diamond is a half circle that is half black and half dark gray. This parallelogram overlaps a larger diamond on the right.

On the right, two side-by-side yellow triangles form a larger parallelogram, with the right triangle a darker yellow than the left. Again, what seem to be two sides of a yellow cube overlap the diamond’s top point; what seem to be two sides of a small black cube overlap its bottom point. These shapes are painted against a light blue-gray rectangular background. Toward the center of the painting, a light orange triangle rests above the diamond’s left point. Behind the diamond’s right point, a partially hidden circle is part black and part dark gray.

Along the bottom of the canvas runs a rectangular black and rust band. Along this line squares and rectangles appear to be cubes; they vary in color from black to grays to browns. Dove created some complex translucent color effects by mixing tempera pigments with melted beeswax and then setting the waxy pigments with a warm iron passed a few inches over the surface of the painting (encaustic method).

Buildings occupied by Franciscan brothers, Two of ten studies for The Brothers, 1942, watercolor on paper late 1930s–early 1940s

Toward the end of his life, Dove and his wife, Helen “Reds” Torr, lived at Centerport on the North Shore of Long Island, New York. Their cottage looked across Mill Pond at prominent twin-peaked gables of buildings occupied by the Franciscan brothers. From 1939 to 1942, Dove did ten watercolor sketches (all in the McNay collection) of these buildings. The sketches evolved from general shapes to two free-floating diamonds with minimal reference to the architecture of the Franciscan brothers’ monastery. The geometric diamond shapes document Dove’s move toward what he termed “pure painting,” a concept espoused by Stieglitz and Dove, equating “purity” with release from representation in painting. On August 20, 1942, two days before he did the last watercolor, he wrote: “Work at point where abstraction and reality meet.”

About the Artist Born in Canandaigua, New York, Arthur Dove was five when his family moved to Geneva, New York, where his father was a wealthy brick maker and landowner. An older neighbor, Newton Weatherly, who was a naturalist and a painter, encouraged young Arthur’s interest in art. To please his father, Dove initially pursued law at Cornell University, but shifted to art, a profession that afforded him financial success as a magazine illustrator in New York City. theMcNay Arthur Dove The Brothers, 1942

About the Artist continued In 1908, with savings and a monetary gift from his father, Arthur and his first wife, Florence, moved to France where American artist Alfred Maurer introduced him to works by the Fauves and the Impressionists. Paintings by Matisse and Cézanne propelled Dove in the direction of non-objective painting. After his 18- month stay in France, Dove returned to the United States and dedicated himself to painting. With no job or financial help from his father, he struggled to support himself as an artist. In 1910, Dove, his wife, and their newborn son moved to Westport, Connecticut, where they took up farming. During this time, Maurer introduced him to Alfred Stieglitz, owner of 291, a gallery dedicated to modernist art. Stieglitz and Dove shared what Dove called “the idea”: that verisimilitude was insufficient for conveying the strong emotions that nature stirred in him. Stieglitz became a lifelong friend, father figure, and patron. In 1912, Dove’s show at 291 was the first public exhibition of abstract art by an American artist.

In 1921, Dove left his unhappy marriage to live with Helen Torr, an artist whom he eventually married. Beginning in 1925 his art changed direction and for the next six years he used found objects and odd materials to create collages, only returning to abstract painting in the late 1920s. While critics liked his work, Dove had few buyers. In 1930, Duncan Philips, a collector who became a lifelong patron, provided a monthly stipend of $50 (later increased to $200) in exchange for first pick of Dove’s paintings. In 1933, the death of Dove’s mother forced him to move back to Geneva to settle the family estate. In 1937, when he and Reds moved back to Long Island, they bought an abandoned post office in the village of Centerport. Dove’s health deteriorated and he was confined to a wheelchair; yet he continued to paint. On November 22, 1946, Arthur Dove died. In his works, a realistic representation of the subject was far less important than an expression of its essential life force. He was among America’s first abstract artists.

Quotes from the Artist I would like to make something that is real in itself, that does not remind anyone of the other thing, and that does not have to be explained, like the letter A for instance.

Arthur Dove said that abstract art is: …less a matter of abstraction than extraction, gravitation toward a certain direction and minding your own business.

Strategies for Tours Primary Grades (ages 6–8): What geometric shapes do you see? Lines? What line is longest? Shortest? What shape is largest? Smallest? Which of the diamond shapes has a larger area? Upper Elementary (ages 9–11): [Use questions above.] Are the colors in the painting cool or warm? Which ones are warm? Cool? Does this painting show a deep space (with perspective) or does the space appear flat? [Show photo of Franciscan brothers’ buildings that inspired the painting.] Name the geometric shapes in the photo and then find similar shapes in the painting. [Explain how Dove extracted from what he saw to create his painting.] Middle School/High School (ages 12–18): [Use questions above as appropriate.] Why do you think he used a limited color palette? [Explain encaustic painting technique that he used to create The Brothers and point out the translucent colors in different areas of the painting.] Adults: [Same as for high school students. Add biographical details that describe his development as an abstract artist. Ask how the above quotes relate to the painting.]

Sources Worth Consulting Balken, Debra Bricker, William C. Agee, and Elizabeth Hutton Turner. Arthur Dove: A Retrospective. Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, and the MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts in association with the Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, 1997. Balken, Debra Bricker, and Anne Cohen DePietro. Arthur Dove Watercolors. New York: Alexander Gallery, 2006. Morgan, Ann Lee. Arthur Dove: Life and Work with a Catalogue Raissone. The American Art Journal, University of Delaware Press Books, 1984. Morgan, Ann Lee. Dear Stieglitz, Dear Dove. Misissauga, Ontario: Associated University Presses Inc., 1988.

Prepared by Francine Garza-Vale Date February 2007 theMcNay