Cross and Weather Vane

Arts of the Americas

1935

Arthur Dove (American, 1880–1946)

In 1933, Arthur Dove and his wife, Helen Torr, moved to Geneva, New York, where Dove had been raised, to settle his family’s estate following the death of his mother. Although ambivalent about returning to his childhood home, Dove found renewed inspiration in the local landscape and began exploring it in depth, making numerous sketches and watercolors that became the basis for canvases such as Cross and Weather Vane. The composition incorporates several natural motifs such as trees, rolling hills, and the round orb of the sun that recur with frequency in Dove’s work and affirm his passion for nature. These elements mingle harmoniously with the manmade objects in the painting, such as the arrow-shaped weather vane, which seems to take flight like a bird. The small brown cross, which appears to be embedded in a gray, rocklike form, serves as a reminder of Dove’s belief in the interconnectedness of spirituality and nature.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Arthur Dove
Title: Cross and Weather Vane
Place: United States (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1936
Medium: Oil on canvas
Inscriptions: signed, bottom: "Dove"
Dimensions: 88.3 × 62.6 cm (34 3/4 × 24 5/8 in.)
Credit Line: Alfred Stieglitz Collection
Reference Number: 1949.538

“Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago,” 1961, 130.
Ann Lee Morgan, “Arthur Dove: Life and Work with Catalogue Raisonne” (Associated University Press, 1984), 231–2.

New York, An American Place, New Paintings by Arthur G. Dove, Apr. 20–May 20, 1936.

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