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Robert Dash
“Evening, 1971” Madoo Conservancy Gardens Sagaponack Hamptons American Modernist

1971

$12,500
£9,557
€10,949.84
CA$17,631.34
A$19,196.03
CHF 10,250.07
MX$231,726.15
NOK 128,861.70
SEK 119,856.38
DKK 81,789.98

About the Item

“Evening, 1971” by Robert Dash (American, 1931-2013) In 1967, Dash purchased an old barn on a small field in Sagaponack, NY. Over the next several decades, he turned the feral grounds into a carefully crafted garden, which would became a place of refuge for some of the most important artists and creatives of his time. Comparing the process of gardening to that of art making, Dash once said, “It illustrates—the same thing with painting—the unlimited possibilities in a small area, because the garden is very small. I mean you can stunningly create the new composition by just slight movement or clipping, the same way you do in painting, wipe out, and so forth.” “Evening” is a rare large-scale 1971 work by Dash, intimately tied to his private home, Madoo. Here, Dash offers a sophisticated dialogue between architectural structures and lush botanical forms under the soft light of early evening. His nuanced color handling with cool blues set against vibrant floral tones reflects his modernist aesthetic rooted in the East End tradition. As one of the few artist-gardeners of his generation, Dash holds a unique position within the Hamptons art movement, counted among friends such as Fairfield Porter, Jane Freilicher, and Willem de Kooning. Works of this scale and period, particularly those depicting Madoo, are exceptionally scarce. This work is acrylic on canvas and is signed in the lower right and further inscribed on the stretcher. It is housed in its original wood frame. This work was included in Robert Dash’s exhibition at the Allentown Art Museum in 1971. Size: 60 inches tall by 60 inches wide (painting) 61.5 inches tall by 61.5 inches wide by 2 inches deep (frame) Exhibited: Pennsylvania, Allentown Art Museum, Recent Paintings by Robert Dash, November 1971 (catalogue no. 13) Provenance: Private collection, CT; Acquired from the above About the artist: Robert Dash was born in downtown New York in 1931. Home schooled for much of his childhood and adolescence, he escaped the city to pursue studies in literature and anthropology at The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Following a year abroad in Italy, Dash returned to New York as a writer, art critic and book editor, painting at night in his parents’ apartment not far from Cedar Bar. Having no formal training as a painter, but with growing enthusiasm and an awareness of Abstract Expressionism’s significance, he “bought a can of white and a can of black and sloshed them around.” In 1959, Dash traveled to Maine with Alex Katz, and soon thereafter began visiting Fairfield Porter in his home and studio in Southampton; as close friends and renowned artists, they opened up the dialogue, exerting both an intellectual and tangible influence upon his approach to painting. He had his first show in 1960. In 1967 Dash relocated permanently to Sagaponack, to the home he christened Madoo (old Scots for “my dove”), what was to become perhaps his penultimate achievement. In this place, he was freely devoted to painting, poetry, gardening—every endeavor approached with the same intensity of acute exploration and experimentation. Madoo became a forum for creative discourse and critique, marked by the arcadian confluence of art, music, literature and poetry, and a refuge for many—John Ashbery, Fairfield Porter, William deKooning, Jimmy Schuyler, amongst others, all with mutual respect and influence. Throughout the 1970s, Dash was regarded as an accomplished painter for his depictions of a now all but vanished Sagaponack landscape. Considered quintessentially Dash, the paintings combine flat expanses balanced by a vigorous brushstroke, all with a color sensibility and palate uniquely his own. Widely exhibited and in notable public and private collections, these paintings truthfully represent the time and place in which they were made. The 1980s and 90s ushered in a return to explorations in Expressionism, marked by a gestural brushstroke, loaded surfaces and personal iconography leading up to his highly regarded Florilegium and Sagg Main series from the 2000s. Robert Dash’s work has been shown in solo exhibitions in Holland, England, and Germany as well as numerous major American art museums and galleries. He has been included in many group exhibitions at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, Yale University and the Fine Arts Gallery University of Missouri. His work is also featured in museum collections at the Modern Art Museum, Munich; Guggenheim Museum; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts; the Corcoran Gallery; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; and the Parrish Art Museum. In addition, his archive of poetry and garden writings was acquired by the Beinecke Library at Yale University in 2011. Condition: Good overall condition. Some instances of minor surface abrasion and surface accretions. Isolated areas of surface craquelure commensurate with age. Faint stretcher bar impressions. Original thin wood frame with typical wear from handling. It is ready to be displayed and enjoyed! All photographs are taken in a well-lit environment using studio lights (set to a cooler temperature) to reveal as much detail as possible. Colors can vary slightly depending on the temperature and strength of your lighting.
  • Creator:
    Robert Dash (1934, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1971
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 61.5 in (156.21 cm)Width: 61.5 in (156.21 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Good overall condition. Some instances of minor surface abrasion and surface accretions. Isolated areas of surface craquelure commensurate with age. Faint stretcher bar impressions. Original thin wood frame with typical wear from handling.
  • Gallery Location:
    Yardley, PA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU2911217200762

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