Car across the Street

Arthur Dove, Car across the Street, 1940, pen and ink and watercolor on paper, sheet: 5 ¹⁄₂ x 8 ⁷⁄₈ in. (14.1 x 22.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.24

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Artwork Details

Title: Car across the Street
Artist: Arthur Dove
Date: 1940
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sheet: 5 ¹⁄₂ x 8 ⁷⁄₈ in. (14.1 x 22.5 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums: ink
watercolor
Mediums Description: pen and ink and watercolor on paper
Classifications: Drawing
Subjects: Landscape — road
Architecture — vehicle — automobile
Object Number: 1986.6.24
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/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 (11 items)

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Arthur Dove, Sun, 1943, wax emulsion on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Suzanne M. Smith, 1989.83.3

Sun

Artist

Arthur Dove

Date1943

wax emulsion on canvas

Black and White

Artist

Arthur Dove

Date1940

gouache on paper

The Court Room Scene

Artist

Arthur Dove

Dateca. 1904-1907

pencil and crayon on paper

Untitled

Artist

Arthur Dove

Date1942

pen and ink and crayon on paper mounted on paperboard

Exhibitions

Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134

Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection

Smithsonian American Art Museum

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.