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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Going to Bat for Stuart Davis, a Genius in Every Branch of Modernism

by Blake Gopnik

Going to Bat for Stuart Davis, a Genius in Every Branch of Modernism

Stuart Davis Artworks

Stuart Davis (618 results)

Quinciette, 1964

Stuart Davis

Quinciette, 1964

Sale Date: May 1, 2024

Auction Closed

Woman at Table with Scissors, 1912

Stuart Davis

Woman at Table with Scissors, 1912

Sale Date: April 18, 2024

Auction Closed

Street Light and Loading Platform, 1912

Stuart Davis

Street Light and Loading Platform, 1912

Sale Date: April 18, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (Landscape Blue), 1919

Stuart Davis

Untitled (Landscape Blue), 1919

Sale Date: March 5, 2024

Auction Closed

Ivy League (C. & M. p. 79), 1953

Stuart Davis

Ivy League (C. & M. p. 79), 1953

Sale Date: February 15, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the X + X (Ten Works by Ten..., 1964

Stuart Davis

Untitled (from the X + X (Ten Works by Ten..., 1964

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the X + X (Ten Works by Ten..., 1964

Stuart Davis

Untitled (from the X + X (Ten Works by Ten..., 1964

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Hôtel de France, 1929

Stuart Davis

Hôtel de France, 1929

Sale Date: November 15, 2023

Auction Closed

Flags, 1931

Stuart Davis

Sale Date: November 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Abstraction in High Key, 1931

Stuart Davis

Abstraction in High Key, 1931

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Landscape, Bass Rocks., 1941

Stuart Davis

Landscape, Bass Rocks., 1941

Sale Date: November 2, 2023

Auction Closed

Urban Scene, 1911, 1911

Stuart Davis

Urban Scene, 1911, 1911

Sale Date: October 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Urban Scene, 1911, 1911

Stuart Davis

Urban Scene, 1911, 1911

Sale Date: October 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Urban Scene

Stuart Davis

Sale Date: October 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Theater on the Beach (C. & M. 16), 1931

Stuart Davis

Theater on the Beach (C. & M. 16), 1931

Sale Date: October 25, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, from X + X (Ten Works by Ten..., 1964

Stuart Davis

Untitled, from X + X (Ten Works by Ten..., 1964

Sale Date: September 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Don't Be Afraid Lady., 1922

Stuart Davis

Don't Be Afraid Lady., 1922

Sale Date: September 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Composers of Musical Comedy., 1920

Stuart Davis

Composers of Musical Comedy., 1920

Sale Date: September 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Natural Scene, 1955

After Stuart Davis

Natural Scene, 1955

Sale Date: September 13, 2023

Auction Closed

Study for a Drawing #1, 1954

Stuart Davis

Study for a Drawing #1, 1954

Sale Date: May 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Stage Set for

Stuart Davis

Stage Set for "The Puritans", 1922

Sale Date: May 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Study for a Drawing., 1955

Stuart Davis

Study for a Drawing., 1955

Sale Date: May 11, 2023

Auction Closed

After-Study, 1959

Stuart Davis

After-Study, 1959

Sale Date: April 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Grade A, 1926

Stuart Davis

Grade A, 1926

Sale Date: April 21, 2023

Auction Closed

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English (US)

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