HBD, Arthur Dove

"We cannot express the light in nature because we have not the sun. We can only express the light we have in ourselves." 

Happy birthday to Arthur Dove, the author of this quote, born on this day in 1880.  Dove is often considered to be the first American abstract painter.  Outfit details and more here.

GEORGIA O'KEEFFE

When I came across this dress, the layered, petal-like hem and rosy hue called to mind the flower paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe.

O'Keeffe (1887-1986) is widely regarded as one of the most important American artists of the 20th century, notable not only for her paintings of stark landscapes and larger-than-life blooms, but also as a woman who rose to renown in a male-dominated field.

Throughout her life, she lived and worked all over the country, depicting her natural surroundings from Illinois to New York, South Carolina, Virginia, Hawaii, Texas, and, finally, New Mexico.

Married to famed photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz, O'Keeffe was also closely associated with other American modernists such as Charles Demuth, Arthur Dove, and Marsden Hartley.  See my Dove post here and Hartley post here.

O'Keeffe's most well-known works are her close-up views of nature, such as the flower paintings depicted here.

There have been many varied readings of O'Keeffe's flower paintings, particularly related to the feminist art movement of the 1970s, and the flowers' innate sensuality.  O'Keeffe maintained that her work simply existed to confront the viewer with the enchantment of nature.

"I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty." --Georgia O'Keeffe

I'm wearing a dress courtesy of sway chic, necklace from H&M, and Boutique 9 shoes.

Photos by @kay_elle_pea on the High Line.

ARTHUR DOVE

Damp, early fall afternoons on the shore call to mind the abstract work of American artist Arthur Dove.

Dove (1880-1946) is frequently considered to be the first American abstract painter, who began his artistic career as an illustrator for Harper's Magazine and The Saturday Evening Post.

Dove believed that his artwork's main component should be spiritual, and was inspired by landscape and life as a farmer and fisherman. Dove referred to his artistic style as extraction; that is, he aimed to isolate the essential aspects from a scene.

Upon returning from a period of living abroad in Europe, Dove became acquainted with photographer and art gallerist extraordinaire, Alfred Stieglitz, who is credited with commercializing Dove's art career.

Dove received his first one-man show at Stieglitz's legendary 291 gallery in 1912, which was the first exhibit of abstract art by an American artist.

Duncan Phillips, founder of the Phillips Collection, became acquainted with Dove's work through his exhibitions at 291 and later, Intimate Gallery and An American Place. Dove's work helped Phillips to realize the process behind abstraction, and he became Dove's most prominent collector. The majority of Dove's oeuvre is now housed by the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

"We cannot express the light in nature because we have not the sun. We can only express the light we have in ourselves." --Arthur Dove

I'm wearing an Elizabeth & James caftan and French Connection necklace.

[Dove images from brooklynmuseum.org, picasaweb.google.com, metmuseum.org, angellier.biblio.univ-lille3.fr, and metmuseum.org, respectively.]