Arthur G. Dove, The Train, 1934. Oil on canvas, 18 1/4 x 22 in. Bequest of Elmira Bier, 1976. The Phillips Collection
Today is National Train Day
Tag Archives: Arthur Dove
Under the Microscope: Primitive Music
Arthur Dove’s Primitive Music (1944) is in the studio for treatment to stabilize flaking paint.
In a diary entry dated May 8, 1944, Arthur Dove describes this painting as a “painting in tempera.” Often, Dove used a homemade tempera mixture, made from a whole egg, dammar resin, stand oil, and water. Usually, Dove used tempera for just the first layers of a painting that he then finished with oil paint or wax emulsion. But in Primitive Music, Dove used the tempera paint on its own, for a smooth, translucent paint film with a velvety, matte surface.
Arthur Dove. Primitive Music, 1944. Gouache on canvas; 18 x 24 in. The Phillips Collection
Slow Art Day: Sharing Impressions
Arthur G. Dove. Red Sun, 1935. Oil on canvas; 20 1/4 x 28 in. The Phillips Collection
Last weekend, a group celebrated Slow Art Day at The Phillips Collection. It was a new experience for all of us, and it led to fun questions and insights, sometimes about pieces many of us had breezed by before.
Here’s how it worked: Alex Pergament and I were the hosts, so we chose nine artworks and marked them on a map. Participants visited each piece in small groups or on our own, in whatever order we felt like. The only rule was that we were to spend five to ten minutes with each piece.
I thought that would feel too long, but once I settled in and started looking at a piece and talking it over, the time flew by. We spent ten minutes with The Road Menders by Van Gogh before we knew it. And we had to hurry away from As Time Goes By by Hodgkin to be on time for lunch. Continue reading