Artwork
Reaching Waves
Reaching Waves is an unspecified painting by the Abstract Expressionist artist Arthur Dove. It dates from 1929 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The title's verb "reaching" suggests forward motion and tension, framing the wave as an active, almost animate force rather than a static observation.
Arthur Dove's "Reaching Waves" depicts a wind wave, as identified in the work's cataloguing. The painting translates an atmospheric natural phenomenon into abstract form, focusing on the cresting motion of water driven by wind rather than on a representational seascape.
By isolating a single wave as its subject, the work emphasizes the rhythms and forces of nature, a recurring concern in Dove's abstraction. The title's verb "reaching" suggests forward motion and tension, framing the wave as an active, almost animate force rather than a static observation.
Held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, the painting belongs to Dove's ongoing exploration of weather, water, and motion as vehicles for non-literal expression.
Technique & Style
Arthur Dove employed oil on canvas to render Reaching Waves, a 1929 work depicting a stylized wind wave. The painting measures 50.5 cm in height by 60.6 cm in width and is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.
History & Provenance
The painting Reaching Waves by Arthur Dove was created in 1929, as documented in the artist’s records and later confirmed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s holdings.
The work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains housed. No documented commission or preparatory history beyond its 1929 inception has been recorded in available sources.
Reaching Waves (1929) by Arthur Dove is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is part of the museum's holdings of modern American painting. The work measures 50.5 cm in height by 60.6 cm in width.
No specific accession number or detailed exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Created in 1929, Reaching Waves is a small-scale painting by Arthur Dove, a pioneer of American abstraction. The work presents an ambiguous, gestural composition that suggests a wave and a reaching hand within a muted, atmospheric field of blues, grays, and earth tones. It resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Context
The late 1920s saw American artists turning toward non‑representational forms, influenced by European modernism yet seeking a distinct visual language. Dove’s work reflects this shift, merging his interest in natural phenomena with a personal, lyrical abstraction that prefigures later developments in abstract expressionism.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Arthur Garfield Dove (August 2, 1880 – November 23, 1946) was an American artist.
