Stuart Davis

(American, 1892–1964)

Stuart Davis was an American Modernist painter, best known for his brilliantly colored abstractions of jazz musicians, street scenes, and landscapes. Davis was a conduit for American culture, and through his graphic forms and aggregate compositions, he translated his experiences into dynamic works such as The Mellow Pad (1945–1951). “My concept of form is very simple and is based on the assumption that space is continuous and that matter is discontinuous,” he once explained. “In my formal concept the question of two or more dimensions does not enter.” Born on December 7, 1892 in Philadelphia, PA, Davis studied under the Ashcan School painter Robert Henri in New York. Heeding Henri’s advice to paint the gritty everyday scenes of the city, Davis frequented back alleys and saloons while becoming involved in leftist politics. Rising to prominence after his inclusion in the famed 1913 Armory Show, it was at the exhibition that he first saw the works of Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. By the 1920s, Davis’s work shifted from the realist aesthetic of his youth into the mature abstracted compositions he is best known for. Over the following decade, he became friends with the artists John Graham, Charles Demuth, and Arshile Gorky. It was during the Great Depression that Davis’s work became increasingly critical of capitalism and he began using painting as a vehicle for his political views. Unable to remain at forefront of the avant-garde during the 1950s, Davis nonetheless represented the United States in both the 1952 and 1954 Venice Biennales. He died on June 24, 1964 in New York, NY. Today, the artist’s works are included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, among others.

Stuart Davis News

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Opinion

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Stuart Davis Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Stuart Davis (635 results)
Study for a Drawing, 1955

Stuart Davis

Study for a Drawing, 1955

Sale Date: March 7, 2013

Auction Closed

Flying Carpet, 1942

Stuart Davis

Flying Carpet, 1942

Sale Date: December 15, 2012

Auction Closed

Arch No. 1, 1929

Stuart Davis

Arch No. 1, 1929

Sale Date: December 4, 2012

Auction Closed

Study for Swing Landscape, 1937

Stuart Davis

Study for Swing Landscape, 1937

Sale Date: November 28, 2012

Auction Closed

City Snow Scene, 1911

Stuart Davis

City Snow Scene, 1911

Sale Date: November 28, 2012

Auction Closed

Stage Set for The Puritans, 1922

Stuart Davis

Stage Set for The Puritans, 1922

Sale Date: November 28, 2012

Auction Closed

Mural Detail #2, 1957–1958

Stuart Davis

Mural Detail #2, 1957–1958

Sale Date: November 28, 2012

Auction Closed

What Do You Think About Human Nature?, 1919

Stuart Davis

What Do You Think About Human Nature?, 1919

Sale Date: November 28, 2012

Auction Closed

Study Avenue du Maine, 1930

Stuart Davis

Study Avenue du Maine, 1930

Sale Date: November 13, 2012

Auction Closed

Study for a drawing, 1955

Stuart Davis

Study for a drawing, 1955

Sale Date: November 5, 2012

Auction Closed

Harbor Landscape (Funnel and Smoke), 1939

Stuart Davis

Harbor Landscape (Funnel and Smoke), 1939

Sale Date: October 14, 2012

Auction Closed

A Table Set for Two, 1915

Stuart Davis

A Table Set for Two, 1915

Sale Date: September 28, 2012

Auction Closed

McSorley's Ale House, 1917

Stuart Davis

McSorley's Ale House, 1917

Sale Date: September 28, 2012

Auction Closed

New Jersey Landscape (Seine Cart), 1939

Stuart Davis

New Jersey Landscape (Seine Cart), 1939

Sale Date: September 23, 2012

Auction Closed

Rooftops, Gloucester, 1917

Stuart Davis

Rooftops, Gloucester, 1917

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Ten Works x Ten Painters..., 1964

Stuart Davis

Untitled (from Ten Works x Ten Painters..., 1964

Sale Date: July 14, 2012

Auction Closed

Arch No. 1, 1929

Stuart Davis

Arch No. 1, 1929

Sale Date: July 12, 2012

Auction Closed

Harbor Landscape (Funnel and Smoke), 1939

Stuart Davis

Harbor Landscape (Funnel and Smoke), 1939

Sale Date: June 24, 2012

Auction Closed

New Jersey Landscape (Seine Cart), 1939

Stuart Davis

New Jersey Landscape (Seine Cart), 1939

Sale Date: June 24, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled, from Ten Works + Ten Painters, 1964

Stuart Davis

Untitled, from Ten Works + Ten Painters, 1964

Sale Date: June 10, 2012

Auction Closed

Young lady Looking Around for a Little..., 1922

Stuart Davis

Young lady Looking Around for a Little..., 1922

Sale Date: June 12, 2012

Auction Closed

Barber Shop Chord (study), 1931

Stuart Davis

Barber Shop Chord (study), 1931

Sale Date: May 17, 2012

Auction Closed

American Waterfront, Analogical Emblem (study), 1934

Stuart Davis

American Waterfront, Analogical Emblem (study), 1934

Sale Date: May 17, 2012

Auction Closed

Harbor Landscape (Funnel and Smoke), 1939

Stuart Davis

Harbor Landscape (Funnel and Smoke), 1939

Sale Date: May 1, 2012

Auction Closed

English (US)

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