Through correspondence in the Phillips archives, photographs, and more, the Reading Room exhibition Dear Dove, Dear Phillips, Dear Stieglitz explores the relationship between artist, patron, and gallery dealer.

Read THE EARLY YEARS, 1912-1933

Read THE GENEVA YEARS, 1933-1938

THE CENTERPORT YEARS, 1938-1946

In Centerport, Long Island, Dove and his wife again lived close to nature in a one-room cottage (formerly a post office) on stilts that was set on the edge of a tidal pond. During this period, Dove struggled with health problems, including pneumonia, heart attacks, and Bright’s disease, a kidney condition that prevented him from working as much as he had before. Despite his deteriorating health, he painted with renewed intensity, moving in a more abstract direction he called “pure painting” and working with themes that had preoccupied him over the course of his lifetime, such as the sun, moon, land, water, and sky. When Stieglitz died in July 1946, Dove wrote to Phillips that it was “a blow from which it will take a long time to recover.” Dove died in Centerport four months later. Phillips wrote a tribute to the gallery dealer in the Stieglitz Memorial Portfolio: “I think he knew we were allies in the same Cause; that we also had an ‘experiment station’ as well as an intimate gallery where art can be at home.”

Alfred Stieglitz to Duncan Phillips, April 3, 1941

Stieglitz conveyed Dove’s happiness about Phillips’s continued sponsorship of his work at a critical moment in the artist’s career. Stieglitz wrote, “[Dove] is happy that you are satisfied with his development. And that your wife also feels the same way. I don’t think you can possibly realize what you have done for him—and so for me. He, able to work freely for another two years without economic anxiety.”

Arthur Dove, Rain or Snow, 1943, Oil and wax emulsion on canvas, 35 x 25 in., The Phillips Collection, Acquired 1943

Duncan Phillips acquired Rain or Snow in 1943, the same year it was painted. In his late work, Dove often used fewer, simpler shapes and a more limited range of colors. The diagonal brown strips may indicate branches and the thin lines likely represent streaks of rain, while the large rectangular shapes could be snowflakes. Two vertical stripes painted in silver on the edges of the painting suggest a window through which a winter storm is visible.

Duncan Phillips to Arthur Dove, April 7, 1942

Phillips wrote Dove, “Rain or Snow seems to me one of the most enchanting paintings you have ever done. I love the way the light planes float and fly in space and the way the grays and whites and silvers sing together in contrast to the rich lines of brown. The space, the balance, and directions are all perfect and the aesthetic joy comes from a personal experience in nature I am sure, and stirs old memories in many beholders. I hear that it was by far the most popular picture in the exhibition.”

Arthur Dove to Duncan and Marjorie Phillips, 1946

In this last letter Dove wrote to the Phillipses before his death, Dove expressed his appreciation for their support, telling them, “You have no idea what sending on those checks means to me at this time. After fighting for an idea all your life I realize that your backing has saved it for me and I want to thank you with all my heart and soul for what you have done.”

Visit the Phillips’s Reading Room (Sant Building, Lower Level 1) to see the full exhibition.

Through correspondence in the Phillips archives, photographs, and more, the Reading Room exhibition Dear Dove, Dear Phillips, Dear Stieglitz explores the relationship between artist, patron, and gallery dealer.

Read THE EARLY YEARS, 1912-1933

THE GENEVA YEARS, 1933-1938

In 1933, following the death of his mother, Arthur Dove moved to Geneva, New York, to settle his family’s estate. Dove was ambivalent about going home—he found the landscape inspiring but practical problems took valuable time away from painting. Conditions in their farmhouse were primitive and Dove reported to Phillips that when the temperature hit minus 33 degrees he and his wife ran back and forth between three wood burning stoves to keep warm. In a later letter, Dove wrote Phillips, “Your idea of doubling the subsidy in the spring is marvelous and really gives me the much longed for privilege of planning for extensive work ahead. This going out to paint then rushing back and slamming the door quickly to keep the wolf out is not soothing to the nerves.”

During their final year in Geneva, the Doves moved into town and lived in the Dove Block, a commercial building on one of the city’s main corners that had been erected by his father. Dove set up his studio on the entire third floor, previously home to a roller skating rink. The artist was ecstatic about being able to hang so many of his paintings on the wall at once.

Dove Block, Geneva, New York, Studio Wall installation, 1938

Dove’s studio at the Dove Block—measuring 60-by-70-square feet and surrounded by 10-foot windows—was the largest he ever had. The space was comfortable and had plenty of light and heat. Dove wrote Elmira Bier, Phillips’s executive assistant, “This place is immense. I hope that the feeling of space will creep into the coming paintings.”

Arthur Dove, Sun Drawing Water, 1933, Oil on canvas, 24 3/8 x 33 5/8 in., The Phillips Collection, Acquired 1933

Duncan Phillips acquired this painting the same year it was created. The title refers to a poem written by Dove: “Works of nature are abstract/They do not lean on other things for meaning/The sun draws water from the sea.” Ribbon-like lines that refer to the unseen forces of nature flutter in the air above an undulating sea. Dove completed Sun Drawing Water in two weeks.

Duncan Phillips to Alfred Stieglitz, January 18, 1933

Phillips wrote Stieglitz to tell him the good news that his wife, Marjorie, who shared his concern about Dove’s urgent need for financial assistance, decided to give Dove a contribution of 200 dollars which she had earned from the proceeds of a recent sale of one of her paintings to the Whitney Museum of American Art. Phillips mentioned the possibility of purchasing Red Barge from Dove as long as he could acquire it at a discount.

Alfred Stieglitz to Duncan Phillips, April 7, 1937

Stieglitz expressed his hope to see Phillips at his New York gallery soon. After Duncan and Marjorie visited Stieglitz and saw Dove’s exhibition, Stieglitz wrote Phillips on April 12, “I can’t tell you what your visit and that of Mrs. Phillips yesterday and today meant to me.”

Stay tuned for Part III (The Geneva Years) of this series and visit the Reading Room to see the exhibition.