Cross and Weather Vane

In 1933 Arthur Dove and his wife, Helen Torr, moved to Geneva, New York, where he had been raised and where he found renewed inspiration in the local landscape. Dove began exploring it in depth, producing canvases such as Cross and Weather Vane. The composition incorporates trees, rolling hills, and the round orb of the sun—all natural elements that recur with frequency in the artist’s work. These features mingle harmoniously with the manmade objects in the painting, such as the arrow-shaped weather vane, which seems to take flight like a bird. The small brown cross, positioned against a gray, rocklike form, represents Dove’s belief in the interconnectedness of spirituality and nature.