Study for ' Cross and Weather Vane' 1935.

Study For 'Cross and Weather Vane' 1935. Arthur Dove, American 1880-1946. Watercolor and Ink on paper. Signed 'Dove.' Lower center. Provenance: The Downtown Gallery, Alfred Stieglitz Collection 1949; Edith G. Halpert, New York. Estate of the above. Sotheby's Parke-Bernet, New York, 16 May 1973, lot 140, sold by the above. Acquired by the late owner, The Doris Bry Trust, object No. DBT132. Christie's Auction 14 March 2016, lot 88. The above drawing was a study for the original painting Cross and Weather Vane,1935 in the permanent Collection of Art Institute Chicago from Alfred Stieglitz Collection,1949. 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 depth, making numerous sketches and watercolors that became the basis for canvases such as Cross and weather Vanes. The composition incorporate several natural motifs such trees, rolling hills, the round orb of the sun that recur with frequency in Dove's work and affirm his passion for nature elements mingle harmoniously with the man made objects in painting. Such as the arrow-shap Weather Vane which seems to take flight like bird. The small brown cross, which appears to be embedded in a gary, rocklike form, serve as a reminder of Dove's belief in the interconnectedness spiritually and nature. Arthur Dove had big influence on Georgia O'Keefe (1887-1986). In the early 1960s, long after established as an American Icon, her painting and lifestyle the subject of national discussion since the 1920's, she noted in an interview with Katharine Kuh, the first curator of modern art at the Art Institute of Chicago, that of all the artists she knew, it was Arthur Dove who played a major role in the formation of her work. She asserted " I think it was Arthur Dove who affected my start, who helped me to find something of my own."