Arthur Garfield Dove Auction Prices and Value Guide

Arthur Garfield Dove auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 302 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Arthur Garfield Dove auction prices: quick answer

Arthur Garfield Dove auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Arthur Garfield Dove
Source records
302
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About Arthur Garfield Dove

Arthur Garfield Dove (1880–1946) was an American painter widely regarded as the first American abstract artist. Born in Canandaigua, New York, Dove became a central figure in early American modernism, producing boldly reductive compositions that drew on natural forms while pushing toward pure abstraction. His practice spanned oil, watercolor, pastel, collage, and mixed media, and he frequently combined materials in unconventional ways—layering hand-mixed tempera over wax emulsion, for example—to achieve richly textured surfaces. Notable works such as Me and the Moon (1937) and Tanks (1938) exemplify his mature synthesis of landscape observation and abstract invention. Represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Dove's influence on generations of American painters remains significant, and his work appears regularly in the American-art and modern-art auction markets.

Early American ModernismAbstract Artoil paintwatercolorpastelcollageabstract landscapesnature and organic forms

Common works and media

Dove's most commonly encountered works include oil paintings on canvas and board, watercolors, pastels, collages, and mixed-media compositions. His subjects center on abstracted landscapes, natural forms, and organic motifs. The experimental collages he produced in the 1920s and the abstract landscape paintings of the 1930s and 1940s represent two significant bodies of work. Works range from small studies and works on paper to larger gallery-scale paintings. Drawings and illustrations also appear in institutional and auction contexts.

Market and appraisal context

Arthur Dove's work appears at auction under American Art and Modern Art categories, with strong institutional representation reinforcing collector confidence. Oil paintings from his mature period of the 1930s and early 1940s tend to generate the strongest market interest. Works on paper, watercolors, and collages offer more accessible price tiers. Appraisal of Dove's work should account for his experimental material combinations, which can present condition considerations, as well as provenance linked to the Alfred Stieglitz gallery circle. Collectors should verify authenticity through catalogue raisonné references and review condition reports carefully given his mixed-media techniques.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Value drivers

  1. Medium: oil paintings on canvas or board generally command the strongest results; works on paper and watercolors are more accessible entry points
  2. Date: mature-period abstractions from the 1930s and early 1940s are the most sought-after segment of his output
  3. Provenance: works with gallery or estate provenance, particularly from the Stieglitz circle, carry added value
  4. Condition: Dove's unconventional material combinations (wax emulsion, hand-mixed tempera) can present condition issues that affect appraisal
  5. Size and completeness: larger-scale compositions and fully resolved abstractions tend to outperform studies and fragments

Appraisal caveats

  • The source pack did not include major auction-house lot notes or realized-price records; the valuation factors above are inferred from museum and biographical sources and should be verified against recent sale results.
  • Dove's experimental media can complicate conservation assessments; condition reports are especially important for appraisal accuracy.

Evidence

Sources for artist context

This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.

Source-grounded artist Markdown

Data basis

This page is built from Appraisily's public auction market index. Private transactions, incomplete sale feeds, and attribution changes may not be fully represented.

LLM-readable Markdown summary for Arthur Garfield Dove

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Arthur Garfield Dove worth?

Comparable public auction sales are the best starting point, but final value depends on the specific artwork, condition, size, medium, provenance, and attribution confidence.

Can Appraisily value my Arthur Garfield Dove artwork?

Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.