Arthur Dove

Moon was painted during the fall of 1935 and depicts a tree covering the glowing moon. Arthur Dove lived and worked at his family home in Geneva, New York, from 1933 to 1938. His works from this period were influenced by the landscape and light of the Finger Lakes region, and are characterized by highly simplified compositions depicting subjects from nature, such as the sun, the moon, and tree trunks. Additionally, Dove’s study of Max Doerner’s recently translated Materials of the Artist led him to experiment with using resin oil color and wax to achieve what Doerner called “a misty, pleasingly dull and mat appearance, and great brightness and clarity.” Painted with short, thin, almost translucent brushstrokes over underlying hues of different intensities, Moon has a surface that seems almost to throb with luminosity and energy.