Telegraph Pole

Description

“Being a wet telegraph pole, some flying leaves and silver.” This is how Arthur Dove briefly described this painting, which juxtaposes the geometry of the pole in the extreme foreground against the curves of distant hills. Dove evoked the wetness of the scene by employing metallic paint on a steel plate; these unconventional materials makes the entire composition shimmer and shine. The varied brushwork and pulsating layers of color in the background further enliven the work’s appearance, suggesting that this industrial object has been subsumed into its natural setting.

Telegraph Pole

Arthur Dove

1929

Accession Number

65884

Medium

Oil, metallic paint, and pencil on steel plate

Dimensions

71.1 × 50.5 cm (28 × 19 7/8 in.)

Classification

painting

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Alfred Stieglitz Collection