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Swing Music (Louis Armstrong)

A work made of emulsion, oil, and wax on canvas.

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  • A work made of emulsion, oil, and wax on canvas.

Date:

1938

Artist:

Arthur Dove (American, 1880–1946)

About this artwork

Arthur Dove used abstraction to interpret musical subjects in works such as Swing Music (Louis Armstrong). Louis Armstrong was renowned in the 1930s for his gravelvoiced singing and virtuosic trumpet playing. Dove, who often listened to popular music while he worked, translated the fast syncopation, joyous rhythms, and improvisational elements of Armstrong’s swing music into paint. Here, the artist rendered patches of red that erupt across the canvas, leaping out of darker areas as if to suggest the blare of a horn across a nightclub.

Status

On View, Gallery 263

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Arthur Dove

Title

Swing Music (Louis Armstrong)

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.

1938

Medium

Emulsion, oil, and wax on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed bottom: "Dove"

Dimensions

44.8 × 65.7 cm (17 5/8 × 25 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Alfred Stieglitz Collection

Reference Number

1949.540

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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