Car across the Street

Arthur Dove, Car across the Street, 1940, pen and ink and watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.24
Arthur Dove, Car across the Street, 1940, pen and ink and watercolor on paper, sheet: 5 128 78 in. (14.122.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.24
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Car across the Street
Artist
Date
1940
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 5 128 78 in. (14.122.5 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
pen and ink and watercolor on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture — vehicle — automobile
  • Landscape — road
Object Number
1986.6.24

Artwork Description

Dove suffered from various illnesses that kept him housebound for weeks at a time. Nevertheless he painted the world that was visible from his glass-enclosed front porch. For a painter inspired by nature, this confinement was frustrating, but Dove transformed the nearby activity into imaginative compositions. In this watercolor, he created a colorful, visually exciting scene from an otherwise banal subject, the neighbor’s car. Defined by only two black lines, the car seems to merge with the surrounding environment.

Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2009

Works by this artist (8 items)

John Cage, Not Wanting to Say Anything about Marcel, Lithograph A, 1969, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1972.96
Not Wanting to Say Anything about Marcel, Lithograph A
Date1969
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Seven, 1978, color etching with hard ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.7
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Seven
Date1978
color etching with hard ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Five, 1978, hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.5
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Five
Date1978
hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Six, 1978, color etching with hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.6
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Six
Date1978
color etching with hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching and found objects
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134
Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection
This exhibition presents some of the most treasured paintings and sculpture from SAAM’s permanent collection, including artworks by Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, George Tooker, among others.

More Artworks from the Collection

Al Blaustein, Family and Friends, ca. 1967, pen and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.30.4
Family and Friends
Dateca. 1967
pen and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Soldiers Standing with Rifles, ca. 1941-1942, recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper
verso: pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.564R-V
Soldiers Standing with Rifles
Dateca. 1941-1942
recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper verso: pencil on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Storefront Church, ca. 1940-1941, pen and ink and pencil with wash on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.566
Storefront Church
Dateca. 1940-1941
pen and ink and pencil with wash on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Mountains and Blossoming Trees, Norway, ca. 1935-1938, brush and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.127
Mountains and Blossoming Trees, Norway
Dateca. 1935-1938
brush and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view